Mona Mia!
by LeatherLeaf
Summary: Continues after Dimension X-treme. My 2nd dream episode for the 2k12 series! (takes place before The Invasion) Original cartoon character, NEW ORIGIN STORY. They are annoying to April, interesting to Donnie, fun for Mikey, tiresome to Leo, and total trouble for Raph. Enjoy the adventure as the TMNT crew help a transformed teen cope with their new life! Don't own TMNT but LOVE THEM!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hellooo! This story continues after Dimension X-treme where we were introduced to Kala. In this story, we meet another character from the original TV series and drop them into the 2k12 universe. I hope you enjoy!It's my next most-wanted dream episode! I've come to notice a continuing theme in the stories I write for my favorite foursome; I just want them to find love!

…

Chapter1- Mean Teen

Lisa Kingsley is a beautiful, popular high school girl. She's smart, charming, excels in her studies, the head of multiple committees such as the drama team, the dance club and, most importantly, this year's school spring dance. Everyone looks at her with awe or envy, is trusted by her teachers and admired by her peers. Yes, Lisa seems to have it all, but to her, success in school is not enough. At home, she is the only child of two very success-driven individuals. Her mother and father graduated with honors from the two of the best universities in the country. They work hard and have built a little empire with Lisa as their darling princess. But… out of everything they could afford to give Lisa, their time was their most precious possession and shared very little with her. So long as Lisa kept up on her schoolwork and brought home all A's, her father was happy. So long as Lisa stayed pretty, stayed well dressed, and kept the 'right' company, her mother was happy. But what makes Lisa happy?

"Herpetology." She answers her father over family dinner, a very rare event in the Kingsley household. Both of her parents are on 'layover' in New York before they leave out again heading to different continents. So it made sense for them to come home and be with each other. Lisa doesn't know how they do it, but her parents are madly in love though they seem to be living lives divided. Dinnertime is when the three sit together in the grand family dining room, feast on delicious food from a world-renown chef and sip flavorful wine from the best vineyards. And it's always the same conversation but Lisa doesn't mind, just as long as they talk to her. First Mother shares stories of her trips and business ventures. Then Father shares stories about his meetings and lectures.

Lisa watches her parents banter back and forth, so full of life and excitement and pride in each other's work. They'd usually ask Lisa about school and her performance, and the length of her hair and her girlfriends. But this is the first time her parents ask about the future. She is a junior now and should start getting her portfolio together for college. So when her father asks her what she wants to study in college, she gets a silent stare from Mother and a raised brow from Father.

"Come again?" Father asks.

"I'd like to enter university as a science major, my focus on herpetology." Lisa elaborates.

"Now correct me if I'm wrong…" Mother says after another sip of her wine.

"You're never wrong, dear." Father winks.

"And you're always right, darling." Mother blows a kiss over to him. "Lisa, does that have anything to do with… studying transmitted diseases?"

"W-what? No!"

"Is there something you need to tell us, Princess?" Father's lips curl.

"Are you both kidding? You have to be kidding!" Lisa giggles, only a little.

"Well, we never did have The Talk." Mother sighs.

"Perhaps it is already too late." Father says with mock worry.

"Mother! Father!" Lisa whines.

"Princess, you'd tell us if something was wrong, wouldn't you? Not about to hatch any eggs are you?" Father barely keeps his chuckles under control.

Lisa sets down her fork and hides her face in her hands. Sometimes, she wishes she could just disappear. "Why do you two love to torture me?"

Both of her parents fall apart in laughter.

Lisa shrugs. At least they are not yelling at her. "I want to learn about reptiles, lizards, iguanas, newts, chameleons, even amphibians. I've always liked them. You know that."

"I think it's a good idea." Her mother says." You should do what you love, get your degree and then marry someone who can take care of you."

"Marry?" Lisa gasps.

"I don't think she should go into that field. Not unless she thinks she can be as successful enough to have her own series on the Science Channel, there really is no money in it. She shouldn't have to marry into money. She's capable of getting it herself. Perhaps law or medical school would be best.

"This is just super." Lisa flicks at the artichoke heart on her plate as her parents go back and forth over what she should do for her future.

"But, darling, our daughter is gorgeous. If she marries well she can play with as many lizards as she wants, so long as she keeps her husband happy." Mother says.

"You and I both agree that studying reptiles is a little hobby of hers." Father points out. "But Lisa needs to have a substantial vocation and make a name for herself. We didn't raise our little Princess to be a pretty incubator."

"Nor did we raise her to be a workaholic, and never giving us heirs."

Heirs? Mother and Father look at their daughter, who is slouching more and more in her chair. She speaks up. "Mom, Dad, as much as I am happy to hear your concern for me, I'd rather we just finish up dinner and watch a movie or take a walk together or something. You're only in town for a couple of days and…"

"Ah, that's right." Father interrupts her. "I have a meeting with our Japanese partners very early tomorrow. I'd better go over the notes and turn in for the night." Father wipes his mouth with a napkin and stands. He walks over to Lisa and pats her on the head. "Don't worry. We can have an early dinner and spend more time together tomorrow before my Redeye flight to Moscow."

Mother stands as well. "I'll tell the cook to have dinner ready by four." She pulls out her cell and starts to tap away, following her husband out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Lisa asks her mother.

"I've been living out of two luggage cases and a trunk for the past month and I feel horrid. I'm scheduled to be at the spa for half the day starting at six. I need to rest and freshen up, remind Steward to pick up my suits from the tailors, so much to do before my flight leaves in three days." She smiles at her daughter, kisses her on the cheek, then rubs the lipstick away. "We'll see you tomorrow for dinner. Have a nice day at school." Mother returns to her Smartphone and walks out of the dining room.

Lisa sits there, as the maid clears the table. "Chef's made apple pie tarts. Would you like one?" She asks Lisa.

Lisa sighs, feeling like a fool being the only one sitting at the large dining table. "I'll take two." She says.

…

Beauty, intelligence, popularity, talent… it all seems worthless when parents love their jobs more than their daughter. Lisa often thinks that perhaps she was a mistake, that during one of their brief layovers, Mr. and Mrs. Kingsley, in the passion of the moment, missing each other so, slipped up and nine months later Lisa was born. She feels as if they had the choice, her parents would have never had children. But now that they have Lisa, they encourage her to do well so when she graduates she can take care of herself, or find someone that wants to take care of her.

She can't blame them. That's just how they are.

Lisa believes this idea, more or less, from day to day. And today her feeling, as if her parents would be better off without her, this idea rings very true. And on days like today, Lisa needs to act out.

Target: April O'Neil and friends.

During the lunch break April, Casey and Irma come back in from hanging out on the steps, to see pink and green flyers taped all over the lockers. Casey rips one off and reads it.

"Ugh! It's Spring Dance time again. This years' theme is the rain forest. Lame!" Casey crumbles up the flyer in his hand.

"Spring dance?" April asks as she peals some of the flyers out of her way so she can open her locker.

"Yes, same time every year. I think you just missed last year's when you transferred into our school. Last year's theme was White Fury." Irma giggles. "Everyone wore white."

"Why is that so funny?" April asks.

"Well, while the Dance committee was on stage announcing the new Spring Queen, I offered to serve the punch and maybe I wasn't too careful not to spill the red juice on those stuffy jerks."

"See, it is dumb. Who serves red drinks at a White Party?" Casey snubs.

"Have you ever been to the spring dances?" April asks Casey.

"Yuck, no. You gotta dress in a penguin suit, get a date AND by her flowers. It's a social gathering I'd rather not partake in. And this 'rain forest' theme is the lamest of all. Now, if it were a sports theme or a Rock and Roll theme, I MIGHT be thinking about asking you to go with me."

April giggles. "As what? Your goalie or your groupie?"

"Yeah, you're right. The Prissy Posse would never think of a dance that cool. Casey tosses the wadded up flyer expertly into a trashcan.

"Speaking of the Prissy Posse, here they come." Irma nods down the hall where Lisa and her small entourage of girlfriends follow along.

Love her or hate her, Lisa Kingsley can dress. You can hear her expensive heels click down the hall as the sea of fellow students part a path for her. Her tailored jeans fit perfectly. Her crisp, white tee fits snug to her curvy form. She's sporting her signature, pink infinity scarf, made by some fashion guru from Italy and her thick, shiny hair is pulled back into a ponytail, her cascading hair bounces proudly with each step she takes. Her friends try to mimic her, impress her, but they just don't have the _je ne sais qui_ that Lisa was bred with.

Lisa halts her stride and looks over at April, not even acknowledging her friends. She sees her ripped flyers and twists her pink, glossy lips at the shorter red-head. "Is there a problem?"

April furrows her brows. "Not yet."

Lisa sucks her teeth and points at the lockers. "You have a problem with free speech or something? Those are my flyers announcing the spring dance you just ripped up."

"Well, your flyers were blocking my locker, so I freely moved them." April says dryly.

Lisa shakes her head condescendingly. "April, April, April."

April is surprised that the girl even knows her name. Sure they're in the same grade and they take some of the same honors classes, but the two never speak. "What?"

"You've been at this school long enough to know the unspoken rules of the social hierarchy."

April blinks, astonished at her use of vocabulary.

Lisa flips the luscious ends of her ponytail over her shoulder and steps closer to her target. "I'm only going to say this once, Lame O'Neil…" Her entourage snickers. " No frumpy, poor, nerdy, nobody is going to tell me what I can and cannot do. As a matter of fact, I'll take these flyers down myself.' Lisa drags a perfectly polished hand across the pink and green paper and rips it off the locker. Lisa smirks at her visual dominance over the fuming redhead. "You know, Lame O'Neil, you wouldn't fit into this year's Rainforest Theme Spring Dance. You clearly have no fashion sense by the soddy clothes you wear practically everyday, and this year, couples are mandatory, and I strongly doubt you'll find a dweeb desperate enough to go with you. Even Cave Face over there wouldn't stoop so low." Lisa shoots an eye over at Casey. "And by the way that third-wheel Goth girl obsessively clings to you, you'll never get asked." Lisa winks at Irma.

April, over the years and at multiple schools, had dealt with egotistical blowhards who preyed on the quiet intelligent. She had formed a metaphorical shell to shield her feelings from those who only saw her as an easy target. But this is the first time April had real friends. And for Irma and Casey to be attacked because of her, doesn't sit well with her emotions.

"Listen, Lisa, I don't know what kind of issues you have at home to have the need to act like a witch to me and I don't really care. But you can leave my friends out of it!" April snatches the ripped flyers from Lisa's hand. "And I wouldn't be caught dead showing up at your stuck-up dance!" April turns and tosses the paper into the wastebasket. She turns back and stares at Lisa, daring her to say something else. Casey and Irma are right behind her.

Lisa, a bit unnerved at what April is insinuating about her home life, affixes her own armor and seethes at her and her friends with steely eyes. "You made the mistake in thinking you or your hounds were ever welcome, Lame O'Neil."

April grits her teeth and turns away from that snake of a girl. It's best to walk away anyway. There is no need to get suspended for righteously drop-kicking Lisa on her spoiled butt.

Lisa smirks at having the last word. She twirls away, whipping her lustrous ponytail behind her, accidentally whacking April in her face.

"Ack!" April grabs at the hair; jumps back and both girls topple to the floor. April frees her face, and her mouth from the brown tendrils and Lisa shrieks, wiping away 'loser germs' from her ponytail.

April and Lisa flare at each other with heaving anger. The teens around them begin to yell, "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

And Just as April is about to forget her resolve and knock Lisa's block off, a deep and authoritative female voice bellows. "What is going on here?!"

The hallway falls silent as a large, ominous figure casts its shadow over the feuding girls.

"Ms. Wormtrowler!" April gasps.

"It's not what it looks like!" Lisa speaks up.

"Oh no?" Their plump science teacher sneers. "Everyone, go to class!" She orders the student onlookers, who immediately disperse, but Casey and Irma stay.

"Ms. Wormtrowler, this isn't April's fault." Irma tries to explain as she helps April to her feet.

"Yeah!" Casey steps in. "That shiny she-vampire started this!"

"I do not care who started this, Mr. Jones. Everyone is aware of the rule about fighting. Now get to class!"

Irma and Casey give April a sympathetic glance as they leave.

Ms. Agatha Wormtrowler, head science teacher for the entire school, is far more terrifying than even the principal. Some say she once imprisoned a troublesome student in dry ice until his graduation day.

Lisa and April may fear her, but they also respect her. Ms. Wormtrowler is brilliantly intimidating; she is one of the reasons they want to study science when they go to college.

They stand before her with bated breath.

"So, the two top students in the school want to set a poor example for the rest of these squatters you call peers by rolling around on the floor like pigs in a trough?" Ms. Wormtrowler.

"It wasn't like that." Both girls say.

But Wormtrowler raises a meaty hand. "No more useless rambling. I am going to be lenient this one time only. Both of you, report to the science lab after school. " She grins menacingly. "I think spending two hours cleaning beakers will remind you to act more like civilized beings and not mindless animals." She walks away.

April and Lisa gather their things and silently head to class, inwardly cringing at having to go to detention, but grateful that that this incident won't be reported in their records.

…

April sighs, placing the last of her portion of beakers on the drying rack. Cleaning thin, glass containers with toothbrushes isn't the worst punishment, but it a lot of time. She was eager to go straight to the Lair this afternoon after she received a message from Donatello about a new invention he wanted to her see. Judging by how naturally brilliant he is, the invention could be anything. So, to help the two-hour detention sentence go by faster, April was trying to guest what in the world Donatello would reveal from under the tarp this time.

April has to grin and bear it; Kala, the Neutrino Freedom Fighter from Dimension X, had overly inspired Donatello with her alien technology. He has been sketching and computing a lot in his free time. And now that he has something to show for it, April is very curious. Sure, April had been unreasonably jealous of Kala, but, in the end, found her to be very cool… and pivotal. Pivotal in that, without the imaginary rivalry for Donatello's attention, April wouldn't have confronted her feelings for him. And although Donatello and April haven't put anything into place, they have grown closer.

April looks at the clock, 4:45, finally! She rinses her hands in the school lab sink she's been working in, dries them, and grabs her book bag. She turns to the sound of Lisa, who is cleaning her bin of beakers at the sink on the other side of the lab. The two had not spoken and that's fine with April. She would have walked right past that pompous priss and out the door, but the frustrated sounds and groans slow her stride.

April sees Lisa, needling away at a one of the thin, glass containers, carefully holding a toothbrush with her thumb and index finger, trying her best not to ruin her manicure. She still hasn't cleaned a third of her beakers.

This isn't April's problem, but it could be. If Lisa is the mean girl April assumes her to be, she had better be smart. Perhaps April leaves and Lisa stashes her unclean beakers where Ms. Wormtrowler had stationed April. The weary redhead doesn't want any more trouble. She sets her bookbag aside and picks up a toothbrush.

Lisa looks over at April, who is rinsing off a beaker and placing it upside down on the drying rack. April looks back at her. "I'm doing myself a favor in making sure these get done. You can't blame me for not trusting you."

Lisa sneers at April for talking to her like a child. She is right about her though. If April had left Lisa alone, Lisa would have been tempted to dump the rest of her work on her and leave. She has better things to do than clean. And she'll never admit being grateful for April staying. The sooner they finish the sooner Lisa can get home and try to find if either of her parents are around to spend time with. The early dinner they have planned tomorrow before her parents leave just isn't enough for her. And having detention irritates Lisa all the more! This is April's fault! Lisa should not be grateful towards her. "Well, you can think what you want. I'm not going to sit here and manhandle these things like I didn't just spend $70 on a manicure. You obviously don't have that to consider."

"You're right." April states flatly. "My time is more important than pink paint on the tips of my fingers."

Lisa, keeping her cool, slides off of the stool she's been sitting on and stands on the other side of April. She turns on the sink and holds out her hand. Time is important to her as well. "You wash and I'll rinse." She says without looking at her.

April nods and without another word, the two girls clean the rest of the beakers in less than twenty minutes.

With their chore complete, April and Lisa head towards the door. April reaches for the lights when she notices Lisa stop at the glass cage where the class pet resides.

Lisa gazes inside at the slender, green lizard, happily basking in the warmth of the heating lamp. "Hello, Camille. How's my favorite quadruped doing?"

April watches Lisa smile and wave at the lizard. She watches her push away the lid, reach down and stroke the loose, pebbly skin of Camille. Finding it strange for Lisa, the prim and prudish girl, to pet the animal, April has to ask. "You got a think for reptiles?"

Lisa continues to stare at Camille. "Not that you really care, but I'm fascinated with them. It's what I want to go to college and study.

April shrugs. "Yeah, well you seem less like the 'playing with lizards' type and more of the 'evil lawyer' type."

"Yeah, well you don't know anything about me… just like my parents." She mumbles.

April, if she cared more, would have asked Lisa to repeat that last part she didn't quite hear. Just then, her T-phone buzzes and she pulls it from her back pocket. She's wasted enough time here. "I'll leave you two alone." And April dashes out the door.

Lisa strokes Camille a few more times, staring at the blank, listless expression of the lizard, thinking her very fortunate not having to be a lonely teenage girl. "You have a good life, Camille. No scary teachers, no annoying classmates, no dances… no absent parents…" Lisa smiles and grabs a plastic container from the side of the cage. "And all the flies you can eat."

"S'cuse me, Miss." The evening janitor, standing in the doorway with his cart, startles Lisa. "I'm 'bout to lock up the premises."

"OK." Lisa shoulders her bag and leaves.

April pushes through the turnstiles of the Lair, grumbling and tense in her stride.

Raphael and Casey look over at her from the living area. "Hey, Red! Didn't think we'd see you again!" Casey hoots.

April walks past them without response, heading straight to Donatello's lab. As many times she had burst in before, it still makes Donatello jump and fumble with his current project.

He looks up to see April storm in, throw her bag to the floor, and fall face-first onto the cot in the corner.

Donnie removes his goggles and rolls his stool over to her. "Hey, April." He says warily.

"Hey." She whispers, head still planted in the thin cushion of the cot.

He looks at her intently; wanting to place a comforting hand on her shoulders, but continues to tap his fingers together. "I assume by your tardiness from school, and your behavior upon arrival, something… disagreeable has happened?"

"I'll say!" Casey and Raphael stand at the lab door. "Red here is starting fights and getting detention. Girl after my own heart." Casey smirks.

"You must be very proud of her, Case." Raphael jabs.

"What? Fights? Detention?" Donatello asks in a concerned tone.

April groans. With her body still stuck to the cot, she turns her head and looks up into to her troubled turtle's brown eyes. "It's not as bad as it sounds, Donnie. It's just…"

"You know you can tell me what's wrong… even if I don't understand." Donatello gives her a soft smile.

She sits up, swinging her legs over the side of the slim bed. "I just got into it with a girl at school. Things got misinterpreted and we ended up having to stay after school to clean beakers. No big deal, it's over."

"It doesn't seem over by the way you're acting. Who is this girl?" Donnie asks.

"It doesn't matter who she is!" April shoots her hands into the air. "Sorry… her name is Lisa, Lisa Kingsley, She's snooty and annoying and pretty popular."

"You mean pretty AND popular." Casey adds. "But yeah, she's annoying too."

April groans again and crosses her arms. "She called me Lame O'Neil and…"

"Lame O'Neil?" Raphael snickers. "Sorry. That's mean… but witty."

"And I couldn't let her talk to my friends the way she did either so… I don't get it. The last school I came from, bullies were big and dumb. But she is… pretty and really smart. Then she said not even the most desperate dweeb would ask me to go…" She stops."

"Go?" Donnie asks.

April shakes her head. "Never mind… Why does she feel the need to pick on me if she already has it all?" She blows a puff of air through her bangs, which totally makes Donatello's cute-o-meter of her rise to its maximum.

He clears his throat. "April, I'll never have any idea how tough high school can be. But I do know, that if you can take down ninja robots and evil aliens from a different dimension, you are strong enough to get through eleventh grade with flying colors."

April looks at her friend and is finally able to smile. Donnie many never encounter the struggles of freshman pranks, sophomore antics, junior anxieties, or senior-itis, but he'll also never experience science competitions, making friends in the lunchroom, graduation, or spring dances. "Thanks, Donnie."

"Yeah, Donnie!" Casey sings. "Thank you so much for the girl talk." He walks over to April and pulls her up by the arm. "C'mon, Red. What do you say we let off some steam and spar in the dojo?"

"Since when do you spar?" Donnie looks at him incredulously.

"Since always!" Casey drapes a hand over her shoulder and leads her out.

"Since yesterday." Raphael mumbles.

"OK, I guess I could relieve some stress." April smirks, already imagining Lisa's face on the punching bag.

"April…?" Donnie stands at their retreat. But he lets her go. If she had wanted to stay, she would have. Perhaps exerting energy in a positive way would be best for her now. Donatello slides back over to his table and tends to the finishing touches of his latest project.

He admits that in the past he was more threatened by Casey's advances upon April, but lately, not so much. April has, at least in Donatello's eyes, made herself more available to spend her quiet times with him. Ever since their misadventure with Kala, April has been less nonchalant and more intentional in her actions towards him. There is no need to be awkward in hiding her feelings or sparing his. They are in a nice place, and wherever their relationship goes, Donatello is happy… for now.

With the last screw tightened, he shuts off of his lamp and takes his mechanism to the garage where a large, black tarp hides his latest masterpiece, waiting to be completed. He decides to show April and his brothers tomorrow… and Casey too.

…

A/N: Lisa is a brat, I know. But can you blame her? She was raised to expect everything to go a certain way for her. AND, if she knew who she was messing with, there is no way Lisa would have been talking to April O'Neil like that! DROPKICK! LOL

I feel bad for April. I know for a fact that kids can be cruel and judge others at face value. April is a little plain, but there is so much to her. The turtles see it; Donatello definitely sees it.

S/N: Also, Lisa wanted to go to public school like her parents did… but also so regular kids could envy her. She wouldn't have shined so brightly at the prep schools her parents wanted her to attend. Good thing she's intelligent, even if she is an uber snob!

MORE TO COME! MORE TO COME! Any questions or comments are welcome!


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2-Strange Change

…

"Miss Kingsley! Miss O'Neil!" Ms. Wormtrowler hollers down the hall. April cringes. School hasn't even started yet. What had she done now? Lisa and April go to where their science teacher stands at the lab door, her thick arms folded. Her beady eyes pierce at them. "I am only going to ask you this once. If I do not get the answer I'm looking for, rest assured, you'll both be cleaning beakers after school until the day you graduate."

The two girls stare at their teacher, anxious and confused.

"Where is Camille?"

"Camillie?" April asks.

"I'm waiting." Wormtrowler warns. Oh no. Lisa shows a hint of fear in her eyes. "You have something to share, Miss Kingsley?"

"The janitor came in to clean and lock up. Maybe he accidentally moved the lid to the cage."

Wormtrowler huffs. "Miss O'Neil, care to tell me the truth?"

Lisa shoots her a worrisome look. April could tell the truth, that Lisa had opened the cage. But she wasn't there to see if she closed it. Honestly, April doesn't owe Lisa anything… except a dropkick to the floor. Perhaps Donnie is the one rubbing off on her. "Ms. Wormtrowler, I honestly don't know what happened, but we were the last ones in the room, so we'll look for and find Camille."

Their teacher sizes the girls up, poking her lower lip out. "You have until the end of the day. But you are not to miss any of your classes. If the lizard is not found, you'll both be suspended and be permanently charged with theft on your records."

Lisa and April walk away; Lisa looking sheepish and April tightly closing her eyes, trying not to smash in a nearby locker.

Lisa wishes this was the worst thing that has happened since yesterday. Her mother went to dinner with a fellow alumni and her father hosted a judge in the parlor all night. Now all she has is the few hours after school today before her parents leave again. She may not get that chance if they can't find Camille.

Lisa looks over at April. "Why didn't you just tell her the truth?"

"I did." April says. "I don't know where Camille is, and even if you did open the cage, I wasn't there to see you close it."

"But I didn't close it. The janitor distracted me."

April stops walking. "Listen, I certainly don't want to be a professional beaker cleaner, the same as you. Let's just split up during lunch and check the whole school. If we don't find the lizard then, we'll have to try again during our free study period. Besides, Ms. Wormtrowler can't suspend us and mar our records for a mistake, only the principal can."

Lisa is quiet for a moment. She runs her polished nails through the tip of her ponytail and grins. "The principal is scared of Wormtrowler too… OK. I'll check the third and fourth floor. You check this and the cafeteria floor. Try all warm and cozy places. Reptiles like the warmth, you know."

"Yeah, I know. See you later." April says.

…

"Why you got us helping that Mini Miss Monster?" Casey complains as he checks under the last table in the cafeteria. Lunchtime is half over and April, Irma, and Casey have had no luck in finding Camille the lizard.

"You're helping ME, Casey." April says. "We both get slammed if we don't find it."

"But you didn't have anything to do with that!" Casey throws his hands up.

"It's not in the kitchen. I checked around all the hot bins too." Irma appears.

"Well, where do we go now?" Casey asks.

"We could check the pool. Maybe it likes water?" Irma says.

"Or maybe it's hiding in the library." Casey says.

April and Irma look at him. "I didn't think you knew where the library was." Irma says.

"Hey, it's a great place to take a nap." Casey says.

"Fine. Irma, take the pool, Casey take the library. I'm going to find Lisa." April and the gang split up.

…

Lisa walks out of the last classroom on the top floor and sighs. Only a few minutes left of lunchtime and still no sign of Camille. If it somehow were able to leave the school, there'd be no way to find it. Lisa makes her way to the stairwell when she notices the parted door that leads to the roof. This door is usually closed. The rooftop is a nice and open space, safe with a high fence surrounding the parameter. Students were caught smoking and drinking and just plain skipping class up there, so it has been off limits for some time. When Lisa and her planning committee tried to convinced their principal to allow them to have the spring dance up there this year, he quickly refused, saying something about poor lighting.

Warm sunlight is pouring out of the small window in the door. Lisa opens it and goes up to the roof.

It's warm and sunny for an April Afternoon. If Lisa were a lizard, she'd enjoy being up here. The blacktop is warm under her shoes and she continues her search, looking around vents and benches. She gets to the back of the roof.

"There you are!" Lisa sighs happily, seeing Camille, lying on her back, basking in the afternoon sun. She reaches for her and picks her up with one hand. "Let's see if I can get you back to the lab without anyone catching me with you." Lisa turns and, from the corner of her eye, sees something glowing under an arching vent. Lisa bends down to get a closer look.

It is a broken canister in a puddle of glowing goop. She sneers. "What in the heck is this?"

Just then, Camille flicks her tail, jerking her entire body, making Lisa's wrist twist. She tries to stand straight up but hits her head on the vent, drops Camille and falls; her manicured hands and stone washed knees slosh into the goop. "Ugh, gross!" She wipes her hands on her shirt and the sticky liquid sinks through. Then, it starts to tingle, and an icy hot sensation runs across her skin. She begins to panic. She looks at her hands and they start to change shape under the glowing mess. Her head beings her hurt badly and she rubs at her temples. A sharp pain runs up her spine and she collapses to the ground. Her body stretches and contracts of its own accord and Lisa can't help but let out terrified scream.

…

As the bell rings, signifying the end of lunch, April reaches the flight to the top floor, having no luck in finding Lisa. Students exit the classrooms and shuffle through the hallway. In the sea of teenagers, April notices, at the other end of the hall, the door to the rooftop is ajar. She moves against the current of students and by the time she makes it to the rooftop door, the hall is empty again. April goes in and up, struck with the fresh wind of the outside. She takes a few steps, looks around and sees no one.

Wait.

"Camille!" April sees the missing lizard under a bench. She picks it up; happy the search is over and heads to the door.

"April?" A low, strained voice calls to her.

The redhead stands guarded, listening. She hears someone calling to her from behind the cluster of vents jutting out the roof.

"April?" They call.

April turns and walks over slowly, trying to get a glimpse of the one beckoning her from beyond the silver cylinders. Her eyes widen when she sees a pair of discarded, pink heels next to a pair of green, clawed feet.

"L-Lisa?" April gasps.

"April, I'm afraid…to open my eyes."

April can tell all too well of what has happened. The white, sparkly, shirt Lisa once wore is now a tattered mess on the ground beneath her. The tight jeans she wore would still be hugging her if not for a long, slender tail ripping through the back of them. The only article of clothing left is the fancy, pink scarf around her neck. What was once a beautiful, bubbly teenager, is now a green, smooth-scaled, snout-nosed mutant. At least she still has hair.

April sets Camille down and kneels beside Lisa. Lisa feels her close and shoots her eyes open. "Don't come any closer or you'll get this stuff on you too!" Lisa holds up one four-fingered hand, the digits are longer, thinner, with sharp talons at the end, chipped polish still at the tips of them. Lisa stares in horror at her new hand. She begins to shake uncontrollably, mentally falling apart.

April takes her hand. "It's OK. It won't affect me." April sees the broken mutagen container under an arching vent. How many more missing containers are there, and how many more people would suffer before a retro-mutagen can save them? "Come on, let's get you out of here."

"No!" Lisa cries. "What happened to me!"

"It's hard to explain, but… I can take you somewhere safe."

"I want to go home!" Lisa whines.

"I… I don't think you can go home right now." April sympathizes.

"You don't know! You don't know my parents!" Lisa tries her best to see her distorted reflection in the warped panel of the vents. "My parents are brilliant and have enough money to change me back to normal. They love their princess and would do anything for me!"

April shakes her head. "Lisa… I can't believe I'm saying this to you but… I'm sorry this happened. I know if you come with me, my friends can help…"

"If you want to help me, then get me home!" She shrieks.

April sags her shoulders. "Fine. Wait here. I'll be right back." April retrieves Camille, sprints to the school lab and puts her back in the cage. She then goes to her locker, gabs a few items and heads back to the roof.

Moments later, April comes back, a little winded, and hands Lisa her big, black hoodie, sweatpants and gym socks.

Sorrowfully, Lisa pulls the white socks over her clawed feet, ties the sweat pants tightly around her, wretchedly fits her tail down one of the pant legs, zips up and drapes the hoodie over her head and wraps her pink scarf around her face. Lisa stands up shakily and leans against the gate. She then hides her hands in her pockets.

"Come on. Most of the students should be in class so the halls should be pretty vacant. We'll hail a cab and get you home." April says.

Lisa nods and follows closely to her.

Without any trouble, the two make their way out of the school and hail a cab quickly. Getting out of the school is the least of April's concern, however. April has never met Lisa's parents, but knowing how intolerable Lisa is, somehow April doesn't think the Kingsleys will take well the news that their once 'super star princess' is now a mutant lizard. Lisa is going to have to learn the hard way.

April sits in the back of the cab with the bundled up Lisa beside her. Every once in a while she'd hear Lisa sniffle, see her shake, or hear her feet nervously rake across the floor mat.

The cab driver looks back at them suspiciously.

"She has the flu, don't want to spread germs." April says to him cheerfully.

"They'll know what to do…" Lisa says to herself.

Lisa is trying to keep hopeful, April knows.

Twenty minutes later they pull up to a posh-looking brownstone. "I don't think you should go though the front door." April says. "Is there a way you can sneak in through the back?"

"I am not sneaking in to my own house." Lisa says flatly.

How delusional can she be? "Lisa, maybe I should go in first and try to prepare them."

"They aren't even home yet. The maid will be home."

"OK, I'll distract the maid while you make your way to your room."

Lisa rolls her eyes. "Fine. It will be easier to convince Helga you're my friend than convincing my mother anyway." Lisa goes up the stone steps and stands behind the tall bush by the door. April rings the bell.

Moments later a slim, older woman answers the door. "My I help you?"

"Good afternoon, my name is Donna Hamato. I am a friend of Lisa's from school."

"Well, Miss Kingsley is currently AT school… Shouldn't you be as well?"

"Eh, no. I just came in from my… family trip to South America and I wanted to bring over the souvenir I got her."

"Oh, well, I can take it and make sure she gets it."

April blinks. "Thank you." April pretends to reach into her bag, and then looks at the maid with shock. "Do I smell something burning?"

"What?" Helga walks away from the door and sniffs toward the kitchen. "I don't think I…"

April walks in and past Helga. "Yes, it smells like maybe old coffee."

"Oh, let me check the machine. Wait right here." Helga goes to the kitchen.

April whistles and Lisa runs in and up the stairs as fast as her awkward, new body allows her.

Helga comes back to the foyer and shakes her head at April. "Nothing was burning."

"Oh, sorry, must be my allergies." April smiles sheepishly.

A loud thud is heard from upstairs.

"What was that?" Helga says.

"Sounds like a huge lizard falling over." April says, making Helga looks twice at her.

Helga goes to the bottom of the steps.

"Helga, is that Donna down there?" Lisa calls from upstairs.

"Miss, Lisa? I thought you'd left for school." Helga is mad confused.

"I did, but came home sick. You can send my guest up."

Helga looks at 'Donna' and shrugs. "Go on up, I guess."

April watches Helga close the front door and go into the kitchen. April runs upstairs.

…

Lisa's room looks exactly the way April had imagined; feminine, proper, bright, and richly decorated. There is a four-post bed, a window bench, en suite bath, walk in closet, and lit shelves displaying trophies and sashes and medals of her many achievements. Lisa is the perfect daughter. So why does she act like such a pill at school? To April, sometimes it just seems like perfection on the surface.

"I'll be right back." Lisa strides into her bathroom and shuts her door.

Hearing the water come on from inside, April sighs and continues to look around Lisa's room. "What a lucky brat." She mumbles. Her cell buzzes from her back pocket. She awakens it; two texts, one from Casey, the other from Donatello.

Case: _Yo, Red! U find the lizard?_

April answers: _Yes. I definitely found the lizard. _

Case: _Where RU? U skipped Math W/O me? LOL_

April: _Sry. Had to leave. TTYL ASAP_

Case: _You N trouble? Do I need to bring my Eastman stick!_

April: _Nothing like that, Case. Not yet anyway. Promise to TTYL!_

April slides over to Donnie's message.

DonnieBoy: _Hi. Hope I'm not bothering you during class._

April smiles and rolls her eyes. April responds: _Hi, Donnie. And no, I'm not in class right now. You are nt gonna believe what just happened._

DonnieBoy: _Let me guess… you got an A- instead of an A+ on your history test? LOL_

April's lips curl, knowing that her terrapin pal is trying to win points for helping her study for that test… she is actually missing her results of that test because of her current situation. April hears the water stop in the bathroom, signaling that Lisa must be finished doing whatever she was doing. April wraps up her conversation for now: _Donnie, it's something big. BIG! I can't talk now. I'm sure I'll see you later 2nite._

DonnieBoy: _Can't wait! See you 2nite!_

The bathroom door opens and April puts her phone away.

Lisa walks out; her hair is long and messy down her back. Her eyes are red and puffy from crying. She walks over to April and hands her the borrowed gym clothes. "Thanks for lending me these… and for getting me into my house. You can go now."

April takes her heap of clothes and looks at Lisa like she's insane. "So… you just want me to go and let you talk to your parents about you being mutated into a lizard… all on your own?"

Lisa stiffens her lips and shakes her head. "I got myself into this predicament. I don't know what you think you can do to help. These are MY parents. They are levelheaded, intelligent, and logical individuals, plus they LOVE me. We'll figure this out together, like a family should so… there's no need for you to stay."

April tries once more. "Lisa, what happened to you is no little predicament. You were generically altered, by extraterrestrial chemicals, into a half human, half lizard being. And I'm sure your parents love you and are willing to do anything to return you to your original self, but it's not that simple."

"How do you know all of this?" Lisa asks, her eyes welling up again.

"You aren't the first one this has happened to. But if you come with me, I can take you somewhere safe."

"I am safe right here!" Lisa shouts. "This is my home! You might think I'm a disgusting monster when you look at me. I know I'm hideous now! But you're making it sound like my parents are all of a sudden going to hate me! This is not my fault! For all I know, this is all YOUR fault. You seem to know so much about what has happened to me! And now you want to take me away to some secret location. I know that you're father is a scientist. You trying to do some experiments on me?!" Lisa pushes her.

"No!" April pushes back. "I'm trying to help you, but you're acting crazy!"

"Am I? Just yesterday you were bad-mouthing me, now today I'm conveniently turned into a big, green freak, and you want to be my friend?"

April sighs in frustration. "Lisa, this is not going to turn out the way you think it is. If your parents see you like this…"

"When my parents come home, which should be soon, they WILL see me. I'll tell them everything, and YOU are going to tell them everything you know about that sludge I fell into, and they are going to find a cure!" Lisa ends with a hysterical tone.

April just shakes her head. She knows that Lisa is terrified; waiting for her parents to arrive will just make things that much worse.

A knock on her bedroom door, "Lisa, are you alright in there?"

"Mother! Yes, everything is fine!" Lisa calls out, runs to the door and locks it. "Just practicing my lines for an audition."

A pause. "Alright, dear." Her mother says.

"Mother! Please, once father comes home, I have something very important that I must tell you both!"

"Of course, dear. I'll be in the study until then."

Lisa and April wait a moment to be sure her mother is gone.

"April?" Lisa whispers. "When my parents come in…" She hesitates. "Prepare them a bit, OK?"

April gets a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, but nods nonetheless. So, for the next 45 minutes, Lisa paces wide circles in her room, and April sits on the window bench, watching the blue skies slowly turn a dark gray.

…

Lisa stands before her three-paneled floor-length mirror. She turns this way and that, trying to come into terms with her new, grotesque features. She stares at the long, tail following her. She concentrates on the tip of it and it flicks around, reminding her of a snake. It sends shivers up her spine. She presses a four-fingered hands against the glass. Tears start to fall once more.

April has no idea why Lisa is torturing herself. "Lisa, it might not mean that much coming from me but, you don't look that bad."

"Hmm… you're right." Lisa looks sideways at April. "It doesn't mean much coming from you."

In spite of April's sympathy running thin, she changes the subject to help keep Lisa calm. "So, what do your parents do?"

"My father is the head of financial advisors for a large corporation. He makes deals, schmoozes with top political figures and helps make the money world go round. I've read some of his proposals. He's brilliant, could sell sand to a Hawaiian. And my mother… She owns a string of legal firms around the country. She won both of her cases in Supreme Court last year. She's also a professor at one of the best schools in the country. She's smart and beautiful. They both travel all over the world so much, but always find time to come home to me. They have so much to offer." Lisa smiles slightly.

_And so much to lose_, April thinks to herself. Maybe Lisa is right. Maybe her parents' money and connections can help create the retro-mutagen even faster than Donatello. Maybe turning to the Kingsleys is a good idea.

Another knock on the door. "Lisa dear, your father and I are here."

They were about to find out. Lisa hides in her bathroom and April answers the door.

The door opens and… "Who are you?" Mrs. Kinsley asks.

"Hello, my name is…" April decides to keep up the façade. "Donna Hamato. I go to school with Lisa."

April studies Lisa's parents. Mother is slim, but fit, tan, long dark hair, subtle but lovely make-up, polished nails and an expensive suit. She's movie-star beautiful. And Father is tall and chiseled. His hair is light and trimmed. His shoulders are broad. He too, is sporting a pricey suit and blood-red tie. They are an impressive-looking couple. Not a hair out of place. There is nothing warm about them.

Mr. and Mrs. Kinsley do not yet walk in to their daughter's bedroom suite. They study the young, redhead before them; a slender, plain-looking, tomboyish child. Mrs. Kinglsey, with her stylishly prim demure steps inside unsurely. "You aren't… one of Lisa's friends are you?"

The way the woman asks makes April feel like an old sock. She plays into it though. "Oh, I wish! Lisa is the most beautiful and talented young lady in our school! She's an inspiration to all us budding teenagers. She's actually doing me a favor by giving be pointers on how to be prettier. As you can see, I am so physically unfortunate." April smiles and ushers the Kingleys inside.

"Ah, that makes more sense." Mrs. Kingsley smiles and sits on the bed.

"Well, where is our daughter? We promised to have an early dinner. I have to be at the airport in 90 minutes." Mr. Kingsley says.

"As do I." Says the Misses.

How polite of them to fit their daughter into their busy lives. April, or 'Donna' rather, looks at them with a very serious face. "Mr. and Mrs. Kinglsey, it is because you have such a wonderful daughter that I am here to help her… I am sorry to say that something has happened."

"To Lisa? Is she OK?" Mother starts.

"Lisa is…in excellent health. She's not sick or injured or anything like that. She's in the bathroom."

"Oh, my, is she pregnant?" Mother shrieks.

"What's the rotton boy's name? I will end him!" Father loosens his tie.

"No! Nothing like that! Lisa's not preggers and there are definitely no boys involved." April says nervously.

"No boys? Are you in love with our daughter?" Father asks curiously.

"You're her secret admirer and you've come to confess!" Mother cries.

"Hey! Stop it! No love, no babies, and no boys! Just listen!" April puffs up. What is wrong with these people? Lisa is probably cringing behind the bathroom door. It's obvious that the Kingsley's are not going to take this well. April has to break the news to them in a way that they'll still be on Lisa's side. As slim as April believes the odds are, she tries her best. She lies. "Mr. and Mrs. Kingsley, Lisa… um… saved me, yeah, she saved me from thugs in an alley today after school. You should have seen her! You would have been so proud! She saved my life, but not before she accidentally fell into some strange chemicals and was… changed."

"What do you mean… changed?" Father asks carefully.

"Mr. Kingsley, Lisa needs you both, more than ever. She told me that if anyone would help her, you would and…"

"How was she changed?!" Mother screams.

The bathroom door handle rattles and Mother strides over to the door. "Lisa? Come out now! What's happened to you?"

"Mrs. Kingsley, Lisa was mutated!" April shouts.

"What do you mean?" Mother says.

The bathroom door opens and everyone holds their breath.

"This is what mutated is…" Lisa steps out, head hung low, hoping that her mother doesn't scream.

But she does.

"What is that! What is THAT!" Mother backs into her husband who is also stepping away.

Lisa flashes a hurtful look at her mother. She pulls at the end of her ponytail with panicky, green-clawed hands. She looks at April for help.

April slowly walks over to the Kingsleys, wanting to calm their ghostly faces. "Please, try to understand. Lisa has had an accident. It's not her fault. She's still the same girl, just her outside is different…"

"Different? She's a monster!" Mother rages.

"No… I'm not a monster! Mother, I need you!"

"Don't you call me that!" Mother shoots an angry eye at April. "What did you do! Where is my real daughter? Did you kidnap her?"

"Mom, it's me!" Lisa beings to cry.

This is a disaster. April inches closer to the parents. "What is wrong with you? Something strange has happened to Lisa. Fine! It doesn't fit into your busy schedules and it's inconvenient against your personal agendas. I get it! But you're still a family! She's not the pretty, perky girl you're used to seeing right now, but she's still in there, calling out to you! Look into her eyes and you'll know! Look at her and tell her that… you're here for her!"

Mother shakes her head, angry tears in her eyes. She looks around her daughter's room, she remembers the day Lisa was born, a day too late and she would have missed her bar exam. And now, this… thing stands before her. The big brown eyes are eerily the same… but that creature, that animal, is nothing like the girl she'd known.

Mother shakily turns back to look at her husband, who has been silent the entire time. "Charles?" She whispers to him. "Charles, what do we do?"

Mr. Kingsley's face is stone cold featureless. He too, remembers the day Lisa was born. He was on a plane going to Dubai. Mrs. Kingsley's assistant emailed him a picture. He had hoped for a boy. Now, this unfortunate liability stands before them… asking for something impossible.

He sighs and frowns deeply. He dares to stare into the desperately familiar, brown eyes of the lizard girl before him. He squeezes the shoulder of his wife and steps away. "I have a plane to catch, as do you, my darling Karen. I hope you have a safe and successful trip."

"Father?" Lisa whimpers. Her plea even brings tears to April's eyes.

Mr. Kingsley stops at the threshold of the bedroom door. He does not turn around. "There is nothing here for you. You are not to come here ever again."

Lisa puts her hands over her mouth as she watches her father leave.

April shakes her head. "You people are disgusting." She looks around the room and finds a bookbag. She empties it of the books and goes into Lisa's bathroom.

Neither Lisa nor Mrs. Kingsley stop her. Mother and daughter look at each other. Mother is looking more and more relieved; Lisa is not.

"Mom… you wouldn't." Lisa chokes.

Mrs. Kingsley straightens up and folds her arms. The expression on her face turns distant, resilient. And it breaks Lisa's heart.

"I'm still me. I'm still your daughter." Lisa cries.

April comes out of the bathroom, the bookbag full, just in time to see the loathing in Mrs. Kingsley's eyes.

It's too bad. Lisa seemed like a great investment. She supposes it's time to focus her energy into more worthwhile things. "I'm sorry, but I don't have a daughter… And if I did, she'd be in a boarding school on the other side of the world. I must ask the both of you to leave this property, before I have the maid call the police."

Lisa cries out and runs past her mother, down the stairs.

"Lisa!" April calls to her. She runs past Mrs. Kingsley, but not before spitting at her. "You will always regret this moment!"

"I already do." The woman says to her, tears streaming down her face.

April stops once more and looks back at her.

"Take care of her, won't you?" Mrs. Kingsley whispers.

April sneers at the woman.

The front door slams shut. April runs after Lisa.

April looks around, finding no sign of Lisa. A woman screams from down the street. April heads that way. She sees an elderly woman, taking out onions from her brown bag of produce and throwing it at the mutant lizard girl. Traffic stops, onlookers gasp. In the distance, a police car flashes its lights.

"Lisa!" April shouts.

Lisa shrinks back from the peoples' hate and disgusted-filled looks. It's too much. "No!" She shrieks and immediately her skin mimics the gray cement she stands on.

The crowd shouts and screams in surprise. April sees this, also amazed. Lisa turns and runs and slips down into a sewer grate.

"Oh, no." April says to herself. Between her and the grate Lisa had slipped through, is the mob of New Yorkers milling about and trying to figure out what they had just witnessed.

April secures the bookbag onto her back and runs around the corner, searching for the next-quickest entrance into the sewer.

…

A/N: OK, so, horrible parents, right? They chose their rich and successful lifestyles over having to deal with a mutant child… I could try to sympathize with them… but naw! And April told them straight up, "You guys suck!"

Poor Lisa, lost and alone… and a Lizard! What would you do if you were mutated? What if it were your kid? I don't know! If it led me to meet the TMNT, I might consider sticking around! XD

I welcome any comments, thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3- Tears and Fears

April speeds through the sewers. She takes out her cell and dials Donnie.

"Why, hello April! Are you still coming…"

"Donnie! This is an emergency! I'm on my way to you now. Please, get everyone ready to help!"

"April! Are you all right? What's wrong?"

"I'm fine! Be there in a sec to explain!" She hangs up.

"April?" Donnie looks at his phone. He straps on his bo and runs out of his lab. "Fellas! April needs us!"

Moments later...

"Guys! Guys!" April rushes into the lair yelling.

All four turtles meet her at the turnstiles.

"April, what's wrong?" Donatello asks.

April rests her hands on her knees and catches her breath. She looks up at them. "I need you… to help me… find someone."

"Who?" Leonardo asks.

"She's a friend from school. Well, not really a friend, a pain in the butt, but she's lost somewhere in the sewers and we have to find her before she gets hurt."

"Wait a minute." Raphael says. "What do we do if we find her? She's gonna freak if she sees us."

"Believe me, you won't be much of a surprise."

The turtle brothers give her a strange look. She turns and runs out into the sewers. They follow her.

"Where is the last place you saw her, April?" Leo asks.

"On the east side. I tried to follow her but she got away. She has to be somewhere in between here and there." April says.

"Ok, we'll split up. What does she look like?" Leo asks.

"Well, she's tall, long brown hair, brown eyes… a tail."

The turtles stop in their tracks.

"What the what?" Mikey says.

April turns to them and shrugs. "Yeah, it's Lisa, you know, the mean girl from school… she's now a mutant lizard."

Eight, wide eyes stare at her.

"Huh." Donnie says wistfully. "I may be a scientist, but I believe in Karma too."

"Donnie, April, head down the east pipes, Raph, you take 5th Avenue. Mikey and I will search through the west system. Keep your phones handy." Leo orders.

They all split into teams and explore the endless maze of the New York sewers for Lisa.

…

"Lisa! Lisa!" April yells as she and Donatello run though the underground tunnels that directly lead to the Kingsley brownstone. Donatello catches up to April once she slows to a rhythmic stroll. They've been running and calling out for ten minutes straight. Twenty minutes more and they'll end up at the grate that April saw Lisa escape into.

"April?" Donatello catches his breath.

"Yeah, Donnie?" April says.

"What? How?" Donnie doesn't know where to begin.

"It happened on the roof of our school. There was a broken mutagen container up there. We were looking for our science teacher's pet lizard. Lisa found it, and the mutagen found her."

"Oh… so that's when Lisa ran away to hide in the sewer?"

"Not before trying to get help from her success-driven parents." April stops and looks away. "It was terrible. They just… abandoned her… told her to leave and never come back. How could they?"

Donatello frowns. He doesn't have an answer for that. He sees the worry on April's face in the dim light of the sewer. After how Lisa had treated his April at school, he's glad that the redhead hasn't given up on her. "Come on, April, we'll find your friend and help her the best way we can."

April doesn't correct him. Lisa is far from being her friend. She takes his hand, to his delight, and they continue to walk briskly through the caverns below.

…

"Lizard Girl? Green Lightening? Scale-a-tron?" Mikey asks and he and Leo shine their flashlights down the pipe-laden trail.

"No, Mikey." Leo says.

"Well, what about Iguana Mama? Leapin' Lisa? Teenage Mutant Cheerleading Lizard?""

"Mikey, stop!" Leo warns.

"… What about The Tongue? Lizards have long, sticky tongues, right?"

"Mikey!" Leo turns to his annoying brother. "You can't just give someone a new name! Her name is Lisa and I don't think she'd appreciate being called Scale-a-tron."

"Awe, I like that name the best." Mikey pouts.

"I'm starting to understand why Raph likes to hit you so much." Leo sighs.

They both walk along silently a few minutes more.

"Leo, what are we going to do once we find her?"

"I'm guessing we speak with Splinter first. I'm sure he won't turn her away, so I guess she'll be staying with us until she can be cured."

"Oh…" Mikey wonders. "Leo, you think she's uber icky, or cute?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"Well, I like cereal in the morning."

Leo has to stop and look at him. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"You see, if this new lizard Lisa is an ug-mug, and she's staying with us, how am I going to enjoy my Sugar Blizzard Choco-Rocks if her creepy face is sitting across from me?"

Leo rolls his eye at him. "Uh, I'll just have her sit across from me. OK?"

"Thanks bro, I'm glad we got that figured out."

They walk in the quiet dripping of the sewer for a moment and Mikey hums as if coming to a conclusion in his mind. "And if she happens to be cute, she can still sit across from you. I have a girlfriend after all and I don't need any distractions so early in the morning." Mikey jogs away happily.

Leo slaps his palm over his face.

…

"This is stupid." Raphael has covered the least ground in trying to find Lisa. He shoots his flashlight around carelessly. _Heck, if the chick wanted to run away maybe she doesn't want to be found._ He walks by a small broken pipe. "Yo, Lisa, you in there?" His voice echoes. How long does he have to be out here until they give up and are given the OK to go back home? He's about to miss his favorite show! He growls and kicks at a fallen pipe. He continues to search down the seemingly endless path for a while, becoming very bored. He looks a few feet up and sees the ever dimming sunlight coming through a grate. The shadows of people walking by steal the light once in a while. Then, it finally begins to rain.

Raphael sighs. If it starts to rain any harder, he'll have to head back. It is no fun trying to walk in two feet of rushing rain water. He looks up at the grate once more, a bit confused. Although he can see the rain falling, none of it seems to be hitting him. He shines his flashlight right under the grate and his eyes go wide; the rain seems to fall onto a statue of some kind. He walks closer and climbs up onto some fallen debris. He points his light at the spot. It looks like part of the brick wall is jutting out into the shape of a person sitting, hiding their face amidst their arms and knees. Raphael wonders why someone would carve something like this and leave it here.

Upon further inspection, the statue looks like it has a tail and, oh, my gosh! Is it breathing? "What the…" He mumbles.

Suddenly the brick carving gasps and looks over at him with big, brown eyes.

"Holy Toledo!" Raphael falls back on his shell.

"Ah!" She screams. "D-don't come near me!"

Raphael groans and gets back on his feet. He finds his flashlight and focuses under the grate. He sees her, a living, breathing girl made of brick. He watches as she tries to hop down and get away from him. Once her hands leave the brick and she lands hard on the sewer ground, her skin changes to a rich emerald green. She keeps backing away. "Leave me alone!"

"Hey… hey wait! Are you Lisa?" Raphael calls to her.

The girl stops. "How do you know me? Who are you?"

"Our friend April asked us to help find ya."

"April?"

"Yeah, you know, Lame O'Neil?" Raph smirks.

Lisa tries to get a good look at him, but it's just to dark down here.

"Now, come on so we can get back before this rain gets worse." He says.

"No! I'm not going anywhere with you!" Mona scurries and fits herself into an old pipe.

"Awe, geez." Raphael walks over to her and squats down to where she is. He hears her breathing and crying softly. All he can see is her tail poking out of the pipe.

"What are you? What is going on? Why did this have to happen to me?" She continues to weep.

He stays there a moment, letting her get a few more tears out. He is super uncomfortable._ How much do girls need to cry until they can toughen up and move on?_ He looks down and sees the water start to stream around his feet. They have to go.

"Listen, Lisa, I know that this has probably been the crappiest day of your life, so it got to get better from here, right? If you wanna cry, that's fine, but we kinda gotta go now before this place gets flooded. I'll take you to a safe place and me and my bros and April will figure things out. Aight?"

She stops crying but has not moved yet. This is getting old. This soft talk is for the birds. He has to be a bit more aggressive. "Uh, can we get this show on the road already? Unless you wanna be flushed out to sea, I suggest you crawl outta that hole and follow me!" He growls at her.

He stands up, turns on his heels and starts to walk back the way he came.

Lisa waits until he's a few feet away. She then backs out of the pipe and follows him. "Wait!" She calls out. "Who are you? Where are you taking me?" She catches up to him and sees that he has a rather large shell on his back, like some huge turtle.

Raphael's little vial of patience is quickly boiling away. He stops and shines his light on her. "Look, chick!"

And as his little flashlight lands on the lost and lonely lizard girl, his heart skips a few beats. She is absolutely gorgeous; her big, helpless eyes, her slender shoulders, her long, although a bit wet, ponytail. And she is a lovely shade of green. Most of the humans he's seen have mutated into horrid forms. In Raphael's opinion, Lisa hit the mutagenic jackpot!

What the heck is Raphael thinking?!

_Nothing, nothing at all_. He clears his throat. "Look, no more stoppin'. You can ask all the questions ya want once we're back at the Lair. Until then, just pipe down and keep up. Got it?"

Lisa gasps; those blazing green eyes behind a striking red mask, the stern expression, those big, strong arms. He's… he's… "OK." She says and quietly follows him.

Raphael nods and walks back at a steady pace. He pulls out his T-phone and calls April.

"Yo, April."

"What's up? Did you find Lisa?"

"Yeah, I got her right here. We're headin' back now."

"Great! Thanks so much! We'll meet you there!"

"Yup." And he hangs up. He glances back at Lisa, making sure she doesn't get too far behind. "My name's Raphael, by the way. Just call me Raph."

"Raphael… like the artist?"

"Yeah."

"Are you… some kind of turtle?"

"No, Ima actual turtle." He's losing more patience.

"Were you a human once… like me?"

"Naw, always a turtle... thank goodness." He mumbles.

Lisa barely hears him end the conversation short. She wraps her hands around herself. The sewers are so cold. Smelly and cold. She hopes that wherever Raph is taking her, it's nicer than this.

…

Not much of an upgrade, but complaining won't do any good now, Lisa thinks to herself as she slowly clicks through the turnstiles.

She's startled when she sees two more turtles standing in what looks like a sunken common area. One is wearing a blue bandana, and the other is wearing orange. They turn and see Raphael enter, and look past him and see the timid lizard girl.

"Hey!" The orange one says happily. He then whispers loudly to the blue one. "Guess we got a cute one."

The blue one reaches behind his goofy pal and yanks hard on his bandana.

"Gah!" he yelps.

The blue one walks up to Raphael and the new girl. "Hello, you must be Lisa. Don't worry, you're safe here."

"Where's here? And where's April?" Lisa asks.

"Right here!" April runs through the turnstiles, followed by another, taller turtle wearing purple. "Lisa, I'm glad you're OK." April places a comforting hand on Lisa's shoulder

But Lisa steps away from her, giving nervous looks to the four, shelled beings among them. "I'm not OK, April. I'm…" Lisa lowers her head and begins to cry.

April guides her to the worn couch. The girls sit. The orange one offers Lisa a blanket and April wraps it around the shivering girl.

The blue one speaks. "I'm going to get Sensei." He gives April 'the look' and leaves.

April nods. She talks calmly. "Listen, Lisa. You may not feel like it right now, but things are going to be fine. These guys are my friends and this place is their home. They saved me many times from all sorts of danger. I trust them, and I know you will too… I also trust Master Splinter."

Lisa sniffles. "Who is… Master Splinter?" She gasps when the orange turtle offers her a box of tissue. She takes one reluctantly.

"Master Splinter is our dad!" Orange turtle says. "He raised us and taught us how to be awesome ninja warriors."

Lisa looks at him through blurry eyes. This turtle is the smallest of the four, but not by much. His eyes are bright blue, his skin is freckled and his smile is huge.

"You're a ninja?" Lisa asks.

"Shell, yeah!" He says proudly.

"But before we get into all of that," April continues. "I have to tell you that Master Splinter is a mutant as well… he's a rat."

Lisa physically stiffens at the idea. She doesn't respond, just gives a slight nod… what the heck has she gotten herself into?

Finally, the blue-banded turtle comes back, followed by their 'father'.

Lisa keeps her eyes on him. Though he is not as gross as she imagined, his presence is still intimidating.

Splinter stands in front of her; his hands folded behind his back. "Hello, Lisa. My name is Hamato, Yoshi. You may call me Splinter."

Lisa's mouth opens, but no words come out. Reptiles, she is comfortable with, rodents, she is not. She takes a big gulp and a shiver runs up her spine. Suddenly her skin becomes the same blue hue as the worn couch she's sitting on and everyone is in awe.

"Whoa, what a cool trick!" The orange one says.

Raphael thinks, _just like in the sewer, when she looked like the brick._

"Wow! Through her mutation, she's acquired the ability to camouflage, like a chameleon!" The purple on says, a little too happily for Lisa's taste.

Lisa looks down at her skin and frowns. She has turned blue. She looks up at Splinter. "I'm sorry, I'm just…

Splinter doesn't take offense. "It is quite alright, child. I've gotten worse reactions from others meeting me for the first time." He smiles and kneels comfortably before her. The four turtles come close to him and they kneel as well.

"My son has given me enough information about you and your unfortunate circumstance that has brought you here. And for however long you need, you are welcome to stay here, and whatever need you may have, although we live humbly, do not hesitate to ask. Believe me, I understand how hard this must be for you."

Lisa pouts. "Excuse me, sir…"

"Just Splinter is fine." The kind rat says.

"Splinter… but how could you understand? Raphael said that he had always been a turtle. You've never been human, have you?"

Splinter looks down and sighs. "Let me tell you a story…" And Splinter recalls to Lisa their origin story, of how they came to be.

As Splinter tells their tale, Lisa calms down and her green color slowly returns.

Splinter finishes by naming his sons. "Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo."

"All the awesome ones end in 'O'!" Michelangelo jeers.

Leonardo and Donatello snicker. Raphael growls and sneers at his baby brother. He would have clobbered him, but didn't want to terrify their new guest.

Lisa speaks. "So, you named them after famous Italian artists?"

"Hei." Splinter says. "I have a fondness for that type of art."

Lisa looks up at him. Though his face may be strange, his eyes are very kind. She looks at each turtle. She looks at April, who has an assuring smile on her face. Things are different now, she is different, and might be for a very long time, if not forever. "I have a request."

"Yes?" Splinter asks.

"I'd like to be called Mona… you can call me Mona." She says.

Splinter smiles. "Mona, it is." Splinter stands to leave. "I am sure my sons and daughter can accommodate you. I will be in the dojo meditating if needed.

"Thank you, Splinter." Mona sees the turtles bow to him, and so does April. _Why did he call April his daughter?_

"So, you wanna go by Mona Lisa now? How fitting with the Artistic Renaissance theme." April says.

"Yeah, it's why I picked it. Mona Lisa… just plain Mona is fine. I'm not Lisa anymore." She says.

"I may be able to help you with that." Donatello speaks up. "Once you're feeling up to it, I can give you the tour to my laboratory. I've been studying the mutagen for a while. Once I have enough samples, I should be able to make another dose of retro mutagen. It worked once on Dr. O'Neil. It should be able to make you human again."

"How long would that take?" Mona asks.

"It depends. We're going to have to find a lot more canisters."

"Oh." Mona deflates.

"But don't worry!" Mikey says cheerily. "Until then, you get to hang out with us, the greatest ninja's in the world! We eat pizza, play games, fight crime, well, you won't have to fight crime, not unless you want to learn, and if you do, I can come up with a cool name for you!"

"Um, thanks, Michelangelo."

"Just Mikey is fine!" He blinks his bright blue eyes. "Say, do you wanna stay up and finish watching the Monster Marathon with us?"

"No thanks. I think I just want to lie down."

"Awe, come on! It's not like you gotta go to school in the morning!" Raph says.

Mona frowns. "Huh, I guess you're right, Raph. No more school… or tests, or classes. No school dance, no more musicals…" She stands up. "…Or going to the mall with my friends, no more manicures, or getting my driver's permit, or graduation, or college for me! I guess I can just stay up and watch all the horrible monster movies forever til I keel over! Sounds like a wonderful LIFE for a hideous monster like me!" She screams.

She looks up at their stunned faces. Her stomach sinks when she sees Mikey's hurt expression. "I'm sorry, I just… April, can you take me to my room?" She looks away, clearly humiliated. _If I think I'm a monster, what must they think I think of them?_

"Sure." April glances at her friends, almost sorry that she brought Mona here, then leads her to the guestroom.

The turtles stand quiet once the girls leave.

"Yikes, what a crab." Raphael mumbles.

"We can't be too hard on her. She's lost everything today, and you were a bit too insensitive to remember that." Leo says.

"Hmph." Raph says. "Well, she better get over it soon. I ain't walkin' on egg shells in my own home cause Little Miss Waterworks wants everyone to feel miserable."

"That's hardly fair, Raph." Donnie says. "Not only did she get mutated, but when she turned to her parents for help, they rejected her. They practically kicked her out to fend for herself."

"Really?" Mikey asks him.

Donnie nods. "April was there, saw and heard the whole thing… We're all Mona has right now."

Raphael blinks. "Well… that sucks."

"Yes, it does, so if Mona needs to scream or yell, or cry to 'get over it', we are going to let her." Leo says.

Mikey looks down the hall where Mona and April disappeared. "I wonder what kind of cereal she likes."

…

"And you can have either the hammock or the bed. I tend to go back and forth when I stay down here." April hands Mona the bookbag she took from her house.

Mona sits on the bed and opens the bookbag, finding that April had packed her toothbrush, toothpaste, a few washcloths, a towel, her favorite pink nail polish, a nail file, shampoo, and the pink, fleece hoodie that had hung on the back of her bathroom door. "Why did you do this?"

April shrugs. "I just brought a few things that I would have wanted the first time I had to leave home to come here. It can get a bit damp and chilly down here. And don't get me wrong, the guys are clean enough, but it just feels good to have your own things."

Mona sets the bag aside, puts on the soft, pink hoodie and zips it up. She hides her hands in the pockets. She looks around the small, brick-walled bedroom. Besides the twin bed and the hammock, the only other furniture in there is a small nightstand with a lamp, a braided area rug and a three-drawer dresser next to the door. This is Mona's new life, and it is depressing. "Why did Splinter call you daughter?"

April falls into the hammock, letting it swing back and forth. "He let me stay here when my father was kidnapped by the Kraang. He took care of me and trained me to fight. I'm not as good at the others but I'm getting there. These guys are my family, and I suppose that makes Splinter my surrogate father."

"So, you're a ninja?" Mona asks.

"Yes, a kunoichi in training."

Mona huffs a small laugh. "You could have kicked my butt at school."

"Yeah." April smiles. "But a true ninja needs to practice self-control."

"Huh… what am I going to do, April?" Mona asks sadly.

April jumps out of the hammock onto her feet. "Just take one day at a time. You were only alone for a little while, and now you are surrounded by people who can help you get through this in many different ways." April walks to the door. "There is a bathroom right next door, and the kitchen is open 24/7."

April heads out the door.

"W-Wait! Aren't you staying down here with me? At least, you know, until I feel more comfortable?"

April smiles. "Sure, Mona. I'll be back in a bit."

Mona nods and April closes the door.

Mona starts going through her bookbag to see what else April confiscated for her, wondering why April is being so kind to her.

…

April jogs back into the common area, finding the turtles now sitting and talking quietly with each other. She takes a seat in between Donnie and Raph. "OK, so first off, I want to apologize for bringing the worst person in my school into your lives.

"The worst? Naw, you already did that when we met Casey." Donnie jabs.

"Who's talking about me! If it's bad, I didn't do it!" The lanky teen hops over the turnstiles and joins his terrapin brethren in the living area, fitting himself snuggly between Donnie and April.

"Do you mind?" Donnie moves away from him.

"Hey, Case!" Raph greets.

"Yo! So, what's up? Y'all having a little powwow?"

"You could say that." April says.

"Red, I sent you like a dozen texts. Why'd you ditch the rest of school and leave me alone with Irma?"

"Casey, how can I put this…" April begins.

"I'll put it!" Raphael cuts in. "Y'know Lisa, your 'buddy' from school? She's now a mutant lizard and is crashin' with us til Donnie can change her back into a snobby human again."

Casey's jaw drops as the information finishes processing. He turns to look at April who gives him a nod of affirmation. His first thoughts, "Is she cute or fugly?"

"Cute." Mikey shouts and Raph mumbles in unison. Mikey looks at Raph and Raph stares at a far-off wall.

"This is awesome! Serves her right after the way she talked to us. Where is she?" Casey asks.

"She's resting now, and she's had a really tough day so now would not be the best time to gloat over her, Jones." April says.

"Whoa, since when did Lisa Kingsley become your BFF?" Casey asks.

"She is not my BFF. And her name is Mona now…"

"Why'd she change her name?" Casey asks her.

April shrugs. "Everything else has changed in her life."

…

The next morning, a miserable Mona watches April as she goes off to school. Mona closes the bedroom door and crawls back into bed.

"Yesterday wasn't a nightmare. I really am a…" She snaps her eyes shut, refusing that anymore tears fall. That's all she's been doing the past eight hours, sleeping and crying. She refused company, refused food. She feels like she's trapped in someone else's life, on some distant world where talking turtles and rats are commonplace. She feels that everything she's ever hoped and dreamed of has been ripped away from her. "It's not fair."

She pulls the covers from her head and places her feet on the floor. All she has to do is get up and start her day, her new journey. She looks down at her unfamiliar feet and can't find the strength to stand.

All she can think about is how her father walked away from her and how her mother chose to forget her.

"Maybe tomorrow." Mona wraps herself in the warmth of her covers in the dark of the room and decides that this is where she'll hide for a while.

…

…

A/N: So, Mona Lisa is NOT smiling right now! Oh well, more drama to come. She's going to have to suck it up! She has a Lair to destroy! LOL! You know, with her winning personality… anyway, what do you think so far? Any comments are candy to me!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hi! I just wanted to take a few bytes to thank all that have read so far. Hope you enjoy!

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CHAPTER 4- Lair Nightmare

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It has been two days since Mona has come to the Lair, and she hasn't left the guestroom.

Turtles are getting worried.

Michelangelo, in particular, has been texting April during the day while she's at school. April had promised him that she'd be staying the weekend to help out.

The orange-banded turtle stands in front of the bedroom door. He hasn't knocked yet. He doesn't know what to say, or if she even wants company right now. But she has to eat!

He knocks softly. "Hey, Mona? It's me, Mikey…" No response. "Listen, my bros and I will be in training for a few hours. The bathroom will be all yours. You won't be bothered. And after, I'm making a big breakfast so… hope to see you there!" And he jogs away.

From inside the room, Mona peeks out of her covers. She waits a good twenty minutes, going back and forth in her head as to whether or not she'd do something today, before sitting up. She rubs her palms over her eyes and then tries running her fingers through her tangled her. She yawns and immediately scowls. Geez, she needs to brush her teeth!

She turns on the lamp and squints at its brightness. She stands and stretches her legs. She picks up her bookbag and hoodie and opens the door. She looks left and right. No one is out there. She quickly and quietly walks the five feet to the bathroom and closes the door.

It's very plain, but clean. There's a sink and toilet. There's no tub, but a large shower with mismatched tiles covering the floor and walls.

She turns on the shower and finds that the water is surprisingly warm. She steps in and drenches herself in the steamy goodness. She feels a little better. The suds from her fragrant shampoo invade her long, dark hair and its scent fills her nostrils and she can't help but smile.

Those turtle things are bald but she got to keep her hair when she mutated. At least that's one thing to be thankful for.

She rinses the soap and residue from her body and she watches it spin down the drain.

"Just like my life…" Her smile quickly disappears.

And all her troubles and the pain of her stolen dreams seem to pile on her shoulders and she drags herself down to the warm tiles of the shower floor. She sits there and the tears fall.

"What am I supposed to do? There's no place in this world for something like me..." She watches the beads of water trail along her scaly hands. In a way, she finds the hands to be strangely beautiful… but they're just not her hands. It's like having an out-of-body experience that she can't return from.

"I wonder how those turtles do it… survive down here away from the real world… guess being a ninja helps."

She finally steps out of the shower and dries off. "Shoot! I'm super sure they don't have a hair-dryer down here." She wraps her hair in her towel and wipes the steam away from the sink's mirror.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to this face." The only things she can recognize are her eyes. They are a bit blood-shot, but they're the only things that remind her of the Lisa Kingsley she used to be. "But, I'm Mona now."

She rubs her hair dry with her towel the best she can, removes a red towel from the rack and hangs up her pink one, and brushes her teeth. She examines her new mouth, finding teeth are smoother, and her tongue feels sticky. "Whatever."

She pins her hair up in a proper ponytail, zips up her pink hoodie and strides out of the bathroom feeling renewed.

She throws her backpack in her room and decides to roam the Lair. She had seen very little of it when she first arrived. She enters the main living area. It's spacious, cavernous even. It's dimly lit, a bit damp and sparsely furnished. "It's not home, but it's way better than nothing." She idly flips through a stack of comics left by the couch, and thumbs over the DVDs and VHS tapes on the bookshelf. "Hmm, I never watched much Anime." She pokes around the ping-pong table. She picks up a paddle and dribbles the little, plastic ball on the green surface. She looks back at her tail and concentrates, attempting to wrap the end of it around the paddle. It works. "Oh, this thing is limber." She balances the ball on the paddle and pops it up in the air a few times. Then she whacks it hard across the room. It bounces and rolls under a blinking pinball machine. "Whoops."

She jogs over to it and crawls underneath, reaching out. She pulls on something and the old game shuts down. "Yikes, didn't mean to do that." She plugs it back in and finally finds the ping-pong ball.

Setting the ball and paddle back on thier table, she goes into the kitchen. It's very homey, with dark cupboards, a rectangular table with mismatched chairs and a retro-style fridge. She opens the fridge and sees the regular stuff, eggs, milk, and cheese. On the bottom shelf, behind the lunchmeat she sees a can of Dr. Pop. She takes it, snaps it open and gulps down the fizzy drink. "Oh, that's good." She opens the freezer and, "Ahh! What the heck!"

Sitting among the ice cubes and a bag of frozen peas is a napoleon-flavored cat made of icecream. It looks at her and meows.

"Holy canoli… um hi." Mona reaches in and the cat licks her finger, leaving a swirl of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry icecream on her finger. She licks it clean. "Mmm, you're good… this is super weird."

She closes the freezer when, from the other side of the Lair, she starts to hear yelling and grunting. She heads down the hall and comes to an open door made of thin paper. She peeks inside and gasps. "I guess they really are ninjas." She whispers to herself.

She watches in awe as the four mutant turtles have a Battle Royale, flipping, swinging, slicing and kicking at one another as their sensei Splinter sits on the side, refereeing them. It's all very fast-paced and bordering brutal. It reminds Mona of her school's Football team; all the roughness plus you get to use your feet and weapons. "This is super cool." She whispers.

The four brothers pit against each other, and as four slowly become three, then two, with Michelangelo and Donatello knocked down, Raphael and Leonardo glare at each other, circling like two tigers in a cage. It's a very intense scene and Mona finds herself excite and a bit nervous.

Raphael bares his teeth, pins back in twin sias and jumps at his opponent. Leonardo doesn't back down, but sprints after him, full force. The clang of their steel is deafening and the sound of it rings through Mona's body.

Raph pushes Leo back a step, but Leo locks their weapons together and twists to the left, making his brother wobble. Leo attempts to swipe his brother's feet from under him, but Raph quickly flips and lands a gratifying kick to his leader's chest.

Blue quickly recovers and follows Red into the air. Red is fired up, openly gloating about being the one to get the first strike. Blue keeps cool, warning Red that he will not have the last.

Raphael turns back, about to lash out with more taunts, when a blur of green races across his face. Raphael's dumb shock pops his eyes wide open. He almost falls on his shell but back flips to recover. He looks at his oldest brother whose mighty fist is still outstretched before him. Mikey and Donnie snicker on the sidelines. Raphael rarely pays his younger brothers any mind at times like these; they're the losers, but once he sees the tiniest of grins on Leonardo's lips… he has to end him.

Mona is now a little unsure of what she's seeing. Before, the two, young, turtles looked so astute, almost Olympian in their style of combat. Now, it just looks like Raph is trying to clobber Leo. He's just swinging and yelling and, it's a horrible mess. Leonardo is managing the best her can, however. They land a few more punches now and again. Leo, to his defense, is trying to be dignified, but Raphael has become a bulldozer. Tired of this game of tag, Leonardo stops, hits Raphael in the arm and knee joints with lightening-quick punches and pummels a palm right in the middle of his plastron. Raphael freezes up, jerks, and falls over.

Splinter puts up his hand. "The winner is Leonardo. Very good, my sons, you are done for the day."

Leonardo looks down at his catatonic brother and smiles. "I'd lend you a hand but I can see you're not in the mood to move right now."

"S-stuff it, Leo. You ain't better than me."

"I know that. You won yesterday, remember?" Leo shakes his head.

Raphael tries, but he can no longer be angry. He groans and slowly rolls himself on his side. "Yeah… good match, bro."

"Thanks, bro."

"OK!" Mikey shouts. "Ima get breakfast ready!"

"Without taking a shower? Ugh." Donatello kneads his shoulder and heads towards the door. "You go and do that. I'm about to take a really hot one."

"I'm takin' the downstairs bathroom!" Raph says.

"After me, you are." Leo walks away.

Raphael, knowing that the winner gets first dibs, stifles a growl and follows his brother out.

Mona presses up against the wall beside the door and watches the four turtles stroll out of the dojo. Raphael comes out last. He stretches his bulky arms over his head and cracks his neck, letting out a satisfying sigh.

Mona inwardly sighs. She comes up behind him and taps him on the shoulder. "Uh, hi."

"YOW!" Raphael spins around defensively. He sees the lizard girl standing there, taking a step back. "What you creepin' around the house for?" He's not sure why, the more he looks at her the more on edge he feels. This is the first time he's seen her in a couple of days. He wishes she would have stayed cooped up a few days more.

"Sorry, I… just wanted to say that was a good fight." Mona says.

"Oh, you saw that?"

"Yeah, it was super cool."

Raph raises a brow at her. "You makin' fun of me?"

"No, why would I…"

"Cause I lost!"

Mona sucks her lips at him. "Well, yeah, but it took a lot for Leo to knock you down. I was trying to compliment you, or are you not used to such things?"

Raphael blinks. "A compliment comin' from you? From what I heard about you, not likely."

"W-what are you talking about? And just what have you heard about me?"

"If you haven't noticed, Princess, we don't got a lot down here. So, tryin' to throw your weight around with your little, nice words, ain't gonna help you." He walks down the hall and into the bathroom, slamming the door shut.

Mona is left alone speechless, thinking that Raphael must be a very sore loser to say such mean things to her. And to call her princess… Raphael didn't know but her father used to call her that. With her hour out of solitary confinement from her guestroom feeling wasted, Mona heads back, wanting nothing more than to disappear under the covers.

"Hey, Mona! You're out!" Michelangelo calls to her from the kitchen when he sees her walk by. "Want to help me set the table? I'm making pancakes!"

Mona looks at him smile as he eagerly roams through shelves for ingredients. She joins him and opens the cupboards. As she sets out the mismatched plates and saucers and forks and cups, she realizes that Raphael was right; they don't have much down here, but they make it work.

The bacon sizzles in one pan and the pancake mix bubbles on another. The orange-banded turtle looks so natural in the kitchen, happily moving about, flipping food and skipping about his workspace just as well as he did in the dojo.

"I saw you guys a little while ago, training." Mona says as she lays the last dish on the table.

"You did? So, you saw my awesome moves, right?"

"Super awesome. You all are."

"It's nice to be appreciated." Mikey smiles. "You can sit wherever. The food's almost ready. I suggest you get yours before the rest show up and devour it all."

Mona takes the nearest chair. The smells of hot food make her mouth water.

Then, from the opposite doorway, Raphael walks in, still looking grumpy. Mona doesn't know why he's giving her the stink eye and she's starting not to care.

"Hey, Raph, that was a quick shower! And why are your arms still wet?"

"Better than NO shower." Raph sneers.

"Food is more important." Mikey nods.

Raphael swats at a fly as he opens the fridge and looks around for a moment. "And I would have dried off completely if SOMEONE hadn't have moved my towel to a puddle on the floor." He slides bottles and containers aside, clanging them about, seeming to get more frustrated. He stands up and closes the door. He levels his eyes at Mona and he sits at the other end of the table.

"I hope you're hungry, Raph. This looks epic." Mikey says as he piles the food onto serving trays at the counter.

"Oh, I'm hungry AND thirsty." Raph is still glaring at Mona.

Mikey shoos a fly away from the counter and walks towards the table. The freckled turtle proudly places the trays in the middle of the table and serves a short-stack with bacon onto Mona's plate. The hot, syrupy goodness wafts across her face, making her mouth water. She picks up her knife and fork, ready to dig in when the fly begins to buzz around her head.

She doesn't swat at it, but watches it carefully as it zigs and zags through the kitchen. She becomes entranced by the sound of the insect.

Mikey slides a plate over to Raphael and sits down in front of his own breakfast. He looks over at Mona and becomes concerned. "Hey, something wrong with your pancakes?"

He gets no answer. He instead watches as the lizard girl's body becomes perfectly still, her eyes darting this way and that.

She's quiet for so long that even Raphael looks up from his bacon at her. "What's your deal? Cat got your tongue?"

Suddenly, her eyes go wide, and her long, sticky tongue shoots up and stretches about five feet, catching the fly in mid buzz. Her tongue contracts back into her mouth with a slippery smack. That fly didn't stand a chance.

Mikey and Raphael, both slack jawed and eyes bulged, stare at Mona as she swallows, immediately shaking her head and coming back to herself.

She drops her knife and fork and stands up with a jerk. "Did I just..." She covers her mouth with her hands and looks at the two turtles with utmost embarrassment.

Raphael is loving this moment. "Did you just eat a fly for breakfast? Uh, yeah, ya did!"

"Whoa, that was cool… but gross!" Mikey sticks out his tongue.

"Hey, maybe she's still hungry." Raphael jokes. "Mikey, go check the sewers for some roaches for Miss Lizzy here to munch on!"

Mikey chuckles. "Or maybe she'd rather I whip her up a water beetle protein shake! Or, or we should take her to a pond."

"Let me guess, to go Fly Fishing?"

At that, the two brothers guffaw and slap their hands on the table, practically crying at Mona's expense.

This is mortifying! And she's had enough of their teasing. "I don't know what came over me. It was an accident! And... You're being annoying!"

"Sorry, didn't mean to BUG ya!" Raph says.

"Yeah, don't FLY off the handle!" Mikey joins in.

"Stop it!" All of this talk about eating bugs makes her stomach churn.

Mikey calms down. "Alright, Mona. You're right. I'm sorry."

"Thanks." Mona says.

"Now let's eat our pancakes before they get cold." Mikey says cheerfully.

Mona nods and sits back down. She picks up her glass of orange juice and takes it down in a few gulps.

Raphael gobbles a strip of bacon and can't stop grinning. He watches her swallow the last drop of her drink, thinking how cute she is when she's flustered. He suddenly hates that he just had that thought.

"And maybe if you know how to ask nicely, Mikey will make you a spider leg pie for dinner." Raphael gives her a devious grin.

Mona bows her head and slams her glass to the table, causing his snickering to cease. She looks up and bores her teary eyes at Raphael. "You Jerk! I didn't ask to be this way!" She pushes herself away from the table and storms out of the kitchen.

Raphael stops mid chew and waits for the faint sound of her bedroom door closing before he continues his meal.

Michelangelo stares at him from across the table.

Raphael feels his baby brother silently lecturing him. He glances over at him. "Girls, can't even take a joke, am I right?"

Mikey shakes his head. He stands up and leaves the kitchen, taking his pancakes with him. "I'm gonna go watch some TV."

Michelangelo didn't have to say anything; just him wanting to get out of Raphael's presence is enough to make the hothead turtle feel like crap.

He did go a little too far, but why? Why does he want to tease her, hurt her? It's not because she's a girl. He had been around April for years and never wanted to get under her skin. He had even befriended Kala in the short time she was here. He didn't want to drive her up a wall. What was it about Mona that made him want to poke at her all the time?

Perhaps it's because she used to be a snobby human and now that she knows how it feels to be a lowly mutant, Raphael feels it is his duty to kick her when she's down.

"Uh, hey Raph." Donatello enters the kitchen.

Raph pulls away from his thoughts. "Sup."

"Did you know the pinball game has been reset?"

Raphael asks him carefully. "What do you mean reset?"

Donatello sits down at the table as casually as he can and pours himself some juice. "I walked past coming from my lab and I noticed all the names and scores have been cleared."

Raph's eye twitches. "And how would that have happened?"

"Well, we didn't have a power outage, and if we did, we have two back up generators. I guess someone accidentally pulled the plug."

"Accidentally pulled the plug." Raphael annunciates slowly. He pushes back from the table and closes his eyes, trying his best to keep his composure. He stands, takes one more pieces of bacon and walks out the door. He brushes past Leonardo and heads towards the living area.

"What's with him?" Leo asks Don.

"It's the quiet before the storm, bro. Enjoy this moment while it lasts." Donnie sighs.

…

Raphael heads straight for the pinball machine, passing Mikey who's sitting in front of the TV. And just as Donnie had said, their pinball was blank like new, as if it had never been played, the previous scores whiped clean. Kala had the ridiculously highest score of 999,999,999, but his was the next at 500,000,000.

This is no coincidence. This is could have only been one person.

He walks back the way he came and soon finds himself at the guestroom door. He knocks.

"Who is it?"

"It's Raphael."

"What do YOU want?"

"To set some things straight."

Mona doesn't know Raphael well, but she's about to learn today. She opens the door and is frozen at the sight of him. His bright green eyes are unnaturally cold, putting a chill in the air around them. She holds tightly to the door handle. She tries not to look nervous. "W-what is it? Come to apologize?"

He cocks his head to the side. "I know it was you. I can put together your little trail of destruction so easily. You're the one who threw my red towel in a puddle on the floor and put your stupid pink towel on the rack in its place. You're the one who drank my last can of Dr. Pop. My brothers know better not to do somethin' so stupid… And it was you messin' around with our pinball machine and unplugged it. Now my 2nd place score is gone cause of you. You ain't been out of your room for a whole day and already you're makin' my life a nightmare!"

Mona is taken aback. She didn't mean to do all of those things to ruin anyone's day. She would quickly apologize… if it were one of his brothers at her door. But Raphael has been a butthead ever since her arrival. So, she calms herself and says the best thing she can think of to get under his shell. "Why couldn't you get first place on your precious pinball machine?"

And just like that, Raphael goes from blizzard to boiling. _Who does this poptart think she is?_ "What do you know? YOU try beating an alien from another dimension at pinball!"

Mona crosses her arms and rolls her eyes. "Look I can deal with your angry little rants, but your crazy talk has got to stop. Is there anything else you care to cry about, or is it OK for me to shut my door in your face now?"

He bites his lip and growls, trying his best not to punch a hole through the wall. He gets close to her, so close that his hot breath rushes through her bangs, so very close, but not daring to touch her. He looks down on her menacingly. "Stay away from me and my stuff and you won't give me a reason to even SPIT in your direction… got it?" Raphael storms down the hall and upstairs to his room.

Mona stands there a moment until the distant sound of a door slamming causes her to unclamp her hand from the doorframe. She steps back into her room and quietly closes her door. She looks around and decides to curl into the hammock. Swinging back and forth, she can't help but think about how Raphael looked at her. At school, even walking down the street or at the mall, she was used to people staring at her, being jealous of her, like the girls at school, wanting to date her, like most of the guys at school, or having rivals, like April. But she's never known anyone who truly disliked her. Not until her parents rejected her… and not until she met Raphael.

Mona can't mess this up. She'll have nowhere else to go if she upsets things in the Lair. She opts to stay in her room, at least until April comes back from school. She doubts anyone else would stand to be around her.

…

Raphael doesn't respond to the adamant knocking on his bedroom door. He wasn't being rude; he had put his headphones on and is continuing to jam to his favorite tunes from his phone.

The tinny sound of drums can be heard from the other side of the door, letting Leonardo know that Raphael was listening to his music. Leonardo was about to pound on the door to get his attention, but he hesitates… Raphael only listens to his music when he's upset or trying to drown his thoughts out. When Raphael is angry, he yells and fights. When he is troubled or confused, he hides away and listens to his music.

Leonardo was more than ready to lecture his brother. He knew what he wanted to say and how he was going to say it. Somehow, at this moment, words are not what Raphael needs. Leonardo lets him alone, for now. He steps away and goes downstairs to check on Mona. He didn't want to be the first to approach her. Her whole world is different now and he doesn't want to force anything on her, even if it is a friendly conversation. Yet, Leonardo wanted to assure her that these turtles she is now living with are not all as brash as Raphael.

Leonardo raps on the guestroom door. "Mona? It's Leonardo. Can we talk?"

…

Mona opens her eyes at the sound of his voice. Her stomach starts to sink. _What did I do now?_ She rolls out of the hammock, turns on the lamp and opens the door. "Yes?" She says cautiously.

Leonardo smiles at her warmly. "I just came to check on you. How are you feeling?"

"I'm OK."

"Mona, I want to let you know that as long as you are here, this is your home. You are not confined to your bedroom. If you need anything or have any questions, please ask my brothers, Sensei and me. We want you to know that you are welcome."

Mona looks away from him. "Thanks but I don't think all of your brothers agree with you."

"Don't worry about Raph. He's not good with change either. Just give him some time. I'm sure he'll warm up to you."

"Hmph, like an exploding bomb." Mona's tummy rumbles… and she blushes.

Leo chuckles. "I'm guessing you're hungry. Come on, I'll get Mikey to make you some fresh pancakes if you like.

Mona smiles, it felt weird to do so with her newer, wider mouth. "OK, Leo.

…

It's a not-so lazy afternoon for Donatello, who has been tinkering at his workbench since he finished breakfast. It was oddly peaceful at the kitchen table, eating pancakes with Leonardo. Mikey was in the living area watching TV and Raphael left in a huff with his plate half-eaten. Donatello also noticed the untouched plate at the table, wondering if Mona was expected to come out of hiding today. But when the two calmer brothers hear their hothead brother yelling at someone that was NOT Michelangelo, they put it all together. A moment had passed and the familiar sound of a door slamming made Leonardo excuse himself, leaving Donatello with all the pancakes and bacon he could eat.

But, the brainy turtle teen scarfed down his plate and went to his lab, eager to finish upgrading his mutagen-tracking device. A few more days and it will be strong enough to locate canisters in a two-mile radius.

Lost in the love of science, Donatello doesn't hear a certain redhead and her vigilante pal enter his domain.

Casey sneaks up on him and taps Donnie's shoulder with the tip of his hockey stick. "Boo!"

"Gah!" Donnie almost jumps out of his shell, the Tracking device bouncing around in his hands.

Casey laughs. "Ha! Look April. I didn't know turtles had butterfingers!"

Donnie swivels around on his stool, thoroughly not amused. "Oh, yay, Casey is here…" He smiles at April. "Hi April, welcome back. How was school?" he says cheerily.

"It was, uh, good… I guess." She says as she takes off her full backpack, filled with homework and clothes for the weekend she'll be staying in the Lair. "Where's Mona? I have to talk to her."

"I'll go find her!" Casey takes off.

April sighs. "Casey couldn't wait to come and see Mona for himself. I kept him away as long as I could." She drags her feet over to Donatello.

He stiffens when she topples into his side. She wraps an arm around his shoulders and rests her head in the crook of his neck. She sighs heavily and the poor guy suddenly can't breathe. "A-April?"

"How do you tell someone the worst news ever?" She whispers.

"What?" Donnie reaches for her and has her stand in front of him. He looks at her with the utmost concern. "April, what's wrong?"

"I need to talk to Mona. It's best I tell her now." April starts to pace. "You'd think things were bad enough for her already…"

"April." Donnie takes her hand and pulls her close to him. He was about to say something before he realized what he had just done. His hands hold hers, having her stand very close, her legs brushing up against his inner thighs. To top it off, he's face to face with her because of the height of his stool. Her big, blue eyes slowly merge from worry to shock, his mouth popping like a fish out of water. Say something, you fool! "Calm down, April. What is it that you have to say to Mona?"

April is comforted by Donnie's kind gesture. She takes a deep breath. "Donnie… I'd rather not repeat it. But, I'd like you to be hear when I tell Mona, OK?"

"Sure, whatever you need."

April smiles, but soon feels the awkward silence and Donnie's touch get the better of her. She looks around for a distraction. "Oh, what were you working on, Don?" She releases her hands and turns him on his stool to face his workbench.

"Oh… this is the mutagen tracking device. It's almost ready." Donnie says.

"Great. I hope we find enough for Mona… and Splinter."

"Yeah… me too." Donnie smiles.

…

Mona cracks her eyes open to the sound of annoyingly rhythmic beats on her bedroom door. Leonardo was right, she was very hungry and ate six pancakes and a handful of bacon and dragged herself back to her room for the most epic nap. She crawls out of bed, wiping the drool and her messy hair from her face. She opens the door wide, relieved that the knocking stops. She squints her eyes from the light in the hallway, wondering which turtle she's giving the stink eye too.

"Holy Moley! How ya doing, Lizard formally known as Lisa?"

Mona's eyes quickly focus on the tall, human teen before her. Her jaw drops. "Casey! What are you doing here!"

He gives her a big, gummy smile and looks her up and down. "Whoa, mutagen been good to you." He winks.

Mona looks down and realizes she doesn't have her hoodie on. Honestly, she doesn't know what he's gawking at. Yes, she's technically naked, but it's not like her goods are showing. He needs to grow up. "Casey Jones, I can't believe this!" She grabs her hoodie from her dresser and throws it on. She zips it up and comes out of her room into the light. She stands there with her arms crossed. "OK, you might as well get on with it."

"Get on with what?"

"Oh, please. I bet you don't study for any tests, but I'm sure you thought of at least ten witty things tease me with. So, come on, give it your all!"

Casey looks at Mona. He wouldn't recognize her if it weren't for the body language and her snappy voice. And he probably would have taunted her… if not for what he and April found out today at school. He laughs lightly. "Naw, nothing like that, Lisa, er, Mona. I think you look cool!"

She cocks her head at him.

"Uh, anyway." Casey rubs the back of his neck. "April's here. She wants to talk to ya. C'mon, she's in Donnie's lab.

…

"Hey, Mona! It's good to see you!" Donatello says.

"Hey." She says.

April turns around to see Mona and Casey walk into the lab. "Mona! Hi, come and have a seat." April urges her onto a stool next to Donatello. "So, how was your day?"

"It was OK…" Mona looks at her strangely, and after a moment of April just looking at her, "Um, Casey said you had to talk to me."

"Yeah… yes." April pulls up another stool and sits in front of her. She licks her lips and looks across the room at Casey, who is hanging out very closely to the door.

Mona looks back and forth at the two human teens. "OK, you both are freaking me out. What's going on?"

April speaks. "Mona… it's about your parents."

…

A/N: Personally, I take Raphael's side. I would be a little miffed if someone pilfered my last bottle of ginger ale. I mean, come on! You think about it all day, and then you finally come home and open the fridge and… NO! Someone's gonna pay! XD

I really hope you're enjoying so far! The next chapter is soon to come!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hello! Thank you to all who have been reading so far and also the 1st story Dimension X-Treme! I am trying my best to get this story out as quickly and as expertly as possible. I'm having fun with this. Thanks again for those following and favoriting! I do it cause I love it!

…

Chapter 5-Sinking Thinking

_When Lisa was in 7th grade she discovered two things; boys and double fudge brownies. To her dismay, the brownies were much more accessible to her than the opposite sex. She would have her driver take her to the fancy patisserie in her neighborhood and buy three, large squares of dark batter brownies every morning before school. _

_Going into winter and fall, Lisa hadn't noticed her weight gain. Her parents hadn't noticed either since both were out of the country on business until the holidays. It wasn't until the upcoming of Lisa's first school dance was she made aware of her bulging tummy and pudgy cheeks. Thanks to the deliciously dense chocolate, the dense pre-pubescent boys were not as sweet to her._

_One such boy was Robert, the cutest, and most-popular boy in school, and he was a grade ahead of Lisa. She thought, "I'm already popular. If I get Robert to ask me to the snowflake dance, I'll be even more so!"_

_So, during the busy buzz of lunchtime, young Lisa strode her way across the cafeteria from the popular girls' table straight towards the popular boys' table. She tapped Robert on the shoulder and smiled. "Hey, Robert. Can I give you a bit of advice?"_

_Robert turned around and looked up at the no longer lean Lisa. "Uh, hey, Lisa."_

_"The snowflake dance is coming up and I wanted to let you know that it's ok with me that we go together. I'll be wearing pink, just so you know."_

_Robert was speechless for a moment. He noticed that his friends at his table were also quiet, waiting to hear what he would say to the pushy, plump 7th grader. They all knew who the famous Lisa Kingsley was, but since her rapid weight gain, she'd been knocked down the popularity pole a few pegs. Last semester, Robert would have said yes, but now... he couldn't lose face in front of his friends. "Sorry, Lisa. I'm askin' someone else. Besides, goin' with you in your pink dress, people would think my date was a big pig." He and his friends laughed and hooted._

_Lisa turned and walked away, her face bright red. She sat back down at her table, completely confused. "I don't get it. Why would Robert say those things? I don't look like a pig!" _

_Dana, the girl next to her said, "Well, Lisa, now that someone has finally said something, I have to agree that you have gained a few pounds."_

_"A few?" Other girls at the table mumbled sarcastically and giggled._

_"I have?" Lisa looked down and finally realized that she can no longer see her feet past her bubble of a belly. When did this happen? And why hadn't these girls told her sooner? She thought they were her friends. _

_Lisa marched out of the cafeteria and ran to the nearest bathroom. She studied herself in the mirror. "Why hadn't I seen it before?" Lisa spent the rest of the day feeling very uncomfortable, self-conscious, and alone._

_When her parents arrived home, Lisa was happy to see them. They had been gone for six solid months and had missed them awfully. But when Father laid eyes on her he laughed and grunted slightly when she tried to jump into his arms. "Whoa there, princess. My how you've grown!"_

_And Mother covered her mouth. "Goodness, what has the maid been feeding you! You'll never get a boyfriend looking like that."_

_"Now, don't tease her, darling." Father said. "My little piggy is still cute as a button."_

_"Hmph." Mother crossed her arms. "It's cute now. She won't be when it's swimsuit season again and all the OTHER girls are wearing designer bikinis and she's stuck in a mumu. Lisa, you are going on a diet!"_

_Lisa nodded her head at her mother's words and went upstairs to her room, unhugged and unloved. She quickly unzipped her bookbag and threw away the rest of her brownies and other chocolate treats. She made few solid decisions. From that day on, she would never be denied anything because of the way she looked. She will take care of her body. She will start doing things her mother does, like go to the nail and hair salon regularly. She will read the magazines her mother reads and eat the same foods. If she ever hopes to be as pretty as her mother, and be adored by someone as handsome as her father, she needed to do it now._

_She will become her father's princess again. She hated that he called her a pig, just like Robert did. She will make sure boys want her and girls want to be her. But, she also decided that she will keep them all at a distance, especially the girls. They can't be trusted to tell the truth, they're all jealous anyway. "I'll give them something to be jealous of."_

…

Lisa had forgotten those and other hurtful moments back in her life when her parents placed so much value in her image and not her emotions. Yes, kids can be cruel, but her parents were supposed to be her safe haven. She had not noticed this about them before.

April speaks. "Mona… it's about your parents."

Mona shivers at the words. In that moment, a million thoughts flash through her mind. The pit in her stomach threatens to pull her to the floor. Her knees lock in place so to keep her seated and her folded hands begin to cramp in her lap. All Mona wants to do is ask the question, but a deep fear takes hold of her voice.

April lowers her head and sighs. "It was at the start of the day, when our homeroom teacher, Mrs. Potter stood in front of us and told us what your parents did… and what happened to you."

Mona shakes her head and squints her eyes. "What do you mean? Do you know where my parents are? What did they say happened to me?" Mona hadn't thought that far, knowing that her absence from school had to be explained somehow.

"Mrs. Potter told us that you wouldn't be coming back to our school because your parents transferred you to some elite private academy in Europe." April says.

"What? But how could they? What about our house?" Mona asks.

"Casey and I went by there… There's going to be an estate sale next weekend. Your parents are selling their home here in New York and are never coming back, I guess so they could pretend to want to be close to you overseas."

Mona cringes at the horrible news.

April continues. "No one thought it was suspicious, you being the daughter of such wealthy parents. The class was happy for you. Even after how your parents acted when they saw you had mutated… I'm still shocked they actually… I'm so sorry, Mona."

Mona nods and looks away. Mona had a very small glint of hope that her parents would reconsider and search for her, but that hope is gone now. She is sure that the Turtles, April and her friends, Casey and Irma think her to be in a pitiful situation. "They… practically made me disappear." A single tear slides down the green, pebbly skin of her cheek.

Donatello, April, and even Casey look at the lizard girl with remorse. Her parents weren't' just acting out of fear; they really did abandon her. How long will it take for Mona to bounce back from this?

Donatello places a hand on her shoulder. "Mona, I'll never understand exactly how you must be feeling, but I promise that I and my brothers will do our best to find enough mutagen, so that I can make the antidote and change you back."

Casey sees how April and Donnie are trying their best to help Mona through this time. He pushes himself off the wall and walks over to her. "Yeah, and I'll help too. We got your back, Lis, er, Mona."

Mona knows that they are trying to be supportive, but it's all too much right now. She knows that they just feel sorry for her; the poor, mutated orphan. She has nothing, and is nothing. She covers her face with her hands and tries to control her breathing.

"Mona? Tell me what you're thinking." April stands close to her.

Mona looks up into the big blue eyes of the redheaded girl, a girl she had underestimated since she first met her at school. Mona had used her beauty and popularity to make April and those like her feel low. Honestly, Mona had even used her parents' success to feel like the queen of the school.

April had been patient with her, dealing with the bullying day after day. April had been strong for her. Mona had wanted to run away and hide from the world once her parents rejected her. Now, her parents are gone, her home is gone, and her life has been erased… but April chased after her and Raphael found her and led her to safety, and Leo welcomed her, and Mikey made her smile. Casey could have mocked her, but chose to be kind to her, and Donnie is giving her hope for the future.

She can't run away now; they have given her so much. "I'm so sorry, for everything, April!" Mona throws her arms around her and sobs all over April's shirt. And April comforts her by holding her and allowing her to get every tear out. April looks up at Donnie and smiles. "Why don't you have Mikey make us some cocoa and popcorn, and we can all watch some movies together?"

Donnie nods. "Good idea, April." He heads out the door of the lab, yanking Casey with him.

A few minutes go by and Mona's crying subsides. She pulls away and looks at April who is smiling back at her. "April, I can't lie, I'm sure I would have kept treating you and your friends like trash if this never happened to me, but maybe it's worth me being like this now, just knowing that you don't hate me anymore."

"C'mon, Mona, I never hated you, but it's true I didn't care for you too much." April helps her to her feet. "I just wished… you could have seen your potential to be nicer. Now, I think you'll get that chance."

"So what? You think the cosmos are punishing me?" Mona pouts.

"No, for all I know, you're probably being set up for something good."

Out in the hallway, Michelangelo can be heard cheering, "A movie night? Alright!"

April walks to the door and looks back at Mona. "You coming?"

Mona stares at her a moment, wondering if she can really let go of the past and move forward; wondering if that 'something good' is really in her future. It will be hard, but she is certain that now, she wont' be walking alone anymore. "Yes." And the two ladies exit together.

…

The rest of the evening is spent in lighthearted chatter and action/adventure entertainment, as six teens, human, mutant and otherwise, munch on buttery popcorn, sip on marshmallows floating in steamy cocoa and watch movies on a little TV in the cozy living area, secluded from the vastness of the outside sewers.

Hidden in the shadows of the hallway of the Lair, another mutant teenager curiously observes his brothers and friends having fun under the blue glow of the television. Once Leonardo didn't bang on his door to harass him, and Michelangelo didn't come barging in to tell him dinner was ready, Raphael had stayed in his room, brooding over the uneasy presence of the lizard girl in his home. She used his shower and drank his soda. She touched his things and for the first time hates that he has to share. What is it about her that he cannot tolerate? Every time her exotic face flashes through his thoughts… his face gets hot and that makes him angrier. He just needs her to be cured and out of his home as soon as possible. But that may take a while, so how will he survive until then? He could just hide out in his room like he did today… For the next six months!

He had been awakened, well past nine pm, to the sound of laughter. He had rolled out of bed, crept downstairs and stuck himself to the wall of the hallway, where he is now. He is about to go join them when he stops at the sound of the colorful trill of laughter coming from that darn Mona Lisa.

Raphael sighs. He can't believe that he's been ousted by that troublemaker. Look at her, sitting with his family, taking his spot on the couch… the nerve!

But then, he starts to wonder why no one had invited him. Was Mikey still angry with him from how he continuously teased Mona? Was Leo teaching him a lesson; that negative attitudes aren't wanted? Or had they just forgotten about him for Mona's sake?

"Whatever." Raphael says under his breath and backs away. Yet, his retreat is stifled by a tall figure standing behind him. Raphael turns around quickly and looks up into the intuitive eyes of his father. "Holy…!" Raphael whispers harshly. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Good evening, my son." Splinter smiles with twitching whiskers. "Aren't you going to join the others?"

"Uh, naw, not tonight. I'm good without her, uh I mean THEM!"

The edges of Splinter's lips curl. "Ah, I see... well, goodnight." And he turns to leave.

"W-wait. Aren't ya gonna tell me to stop bein' a grump, go out there and give her, I mean THEM, a chance or somethin'?"

The wise rat stops and looks back at his fiery son. "Et tu, Raphael?"

"What?"

"I have learned, from past experiences, to just be a quiet observer in these types of 'events'. If you ever need to talk, I am always ready to listen, but as for what you should and should not do about… them… I cannot and will not tell you that."

"But why?"

"I didn't not tell your brothers what to do and they seem to be fine. Besides, it's more exciting this way." He smiles and walks back down the hall to his room.

Raphael stares out into the darkness his Sensei just left him in. "What the heck does that mean?"

"Yo, Raph! What're you standing over there for? Come on, Speed Craze 3 is about to come on!" Mikey hollers at him from the end of the couch.

Raphael sags his shoulders and heads over to the crew. He sees Mikey, Donnie, April, and Mona tucked snugly in the old couch, Casey in the recliner and Leo lounging on a big floor pillow. He glances over at Mona, who is making a point not to look at him. Good. Raph walks past her line of sight and high-fives Casey.

Mona is trembling at the nearness of him; out of fear or anger, she doesn't know. What will he do? What should she day? She almost spills the rest of her cocoa.

"Mona, you OK?" April asks her.

Mona stands up. "No, I'm fine. I think I'll go put my cup away and turn in for the night."

"Are you sure?" Mikey asks her.

"Yes." She smiles. "Thanks guys. Goodnight." Mona says to everyone else.

"Night, Mona!" All except Raphael say.

As soon as Mona leaves, Raphael fits himself into his place on the couch, practically making April shift to sit on Donnie's lap, which Donnie doesn't mind at all.

This is good. This is how it's supposed to be; just Raphael and his family, just him and his friends. He'll worry about Mona some other time. He smiles as the opening credits flash on the screen. "Pass me the popcorn, Mikey."

…

Michelangelo likes having an apprentice chef help him make breakfast. He peels the potatoes and Mona throws away the skin. He chops up the onions; she sets out the frying pan. He sautés the home fries and sausage to perfection and she sets the table.

It doesn't take long for the savory smells of breakfast to waft through the air and sleepy, hungry teenagers start to enter the kitchen.

Donatello enters first. He had been back and forth from the lab and garage all night, completing his latest project. He's excited to try it out as soon as possible, perhaps tonight during patrol. He sits down and looks up to greet Mikey and Mona when Leo and April enter from the other side. They had just come from the dojo, Donnie can tell. She's wearing those gray sweatpants; they're loose around her legs, giving her room to jump and kick. Yet, they don't take away from her allure… those sweatpants slouch and sit along her hip line. And her black tank top rides up her waist. Her skin is flushed and glistens and she wipes her brow with the band around her wrist.

She and Leo do extra training together now and then, and Donatello is OK with that. April is improving, more so than she would have with him or his other brothers. Mikey would be a distraction, Raphael would be too rough, and Donatello would be too distracted and not rough enough.

He watches her take the seat next to Mona and all he can think about is how beautiful April is. Now, Donatello isn't blind. He can obviously see how attractive Mona is. He wonders if his brothers can see it; if Mona even knows she's not as hideous as her human from was lovely. But April, her big blue eyes, shapely, rosy lips, slender, freckled shoulders, the unwavering smile she always gives him, takes his breath away. One day, he hopes to have the same effect on her.

"Donnie!" Mikey yells.

"What! What!" the brilliant turtle jumps.

"You think you have enough orange juice?"

Donatello looks down and sees he's poured himself an overflowing cup. He quickly puts the carton aside and Leo hands him the paper towels. "Sorry!"

Mona and April giggle at him, and he blushes profusely.

Raphael is the last to show up. He trudges in, groggy and grumpy form another horrible night's sleep.

And, unknowingly, Mikey greets him cheerily. "Morning, bro! There's a frosty can of pop in the freezer for you!"

Raphael grunts and opens the freezer door. A pair of strawberry and chocolate kitty paws hands him his soda and he closes the door. He looks at the can in his hand, slowly becoming grateful that one of his human friends had gone to the store and thought of him.

Then he hears a girlish giggle. He looks at Mona as she watches Mikey catch toast that had just ejected from the toaster.

He wishes it were all a dream; that Mona hadn't actually arrived and interrupted his life. Raphael is a macho turtle, a man's man. If he wanted to walk around the lair without his gear, he would. If he wanted to yell and burp and scratch, rough play, and hog all the popcorn, he would, and used to do so without reservation! But now, he finds himself being more mindful with a Mona in their midst. He doesn't know why; he doesn't even like her! He didn't go through so much trouble when April first showed up… but he never thought about April the way he thinks about Mona.

Raphael reaches for a chair as Mona catches his eye again. She's staring at him.

"Good morning, Raphael." Mona says in a quiet and pleasant tone.

Raphael flinches and blinks his droopy eyes. He looks away, yet trying his hardest to focus on his fuzzy peripheral of her. He had wanted to sit and enjoy the big breakfast his brother made. Now, all he wants to do is suck down his soda, wash the morning breath from his mouth and go back to bed, all because of her big, brown eyes looking at him. He cracks his soda open, chucks two fingers off the side of his head, giving a lazy 'hello', and leaves.

Mikey, still in his apron, sits down and watches his brooding brother depart. "Awe, and I made his favorite sausage too… oh well, more for us!"

Mona tries not to be bothered by how Raphael is sticking to treating her like the plague. She and he haven't said a word to one another since Raphael threatened her to leave him alone. That was a week ago and they've still been avoiding each other. No one has mentioned the obviousness of the issue, which makes Raphael happy, but Mona can't go on like this. She doesn't want him to be angry with her; she wants to talk to him and get to know him, the way she's been able to do with the others.

She'll have a talk with him later. Even if he yells, she is going to make him listen to her.

"Mona?"

"Y-yes?" Mona looks to her left at Donatello.

"I was wondering if you're up to it, after breakfast I'd like to give you a physical examination." Donnie asks her.

"Uh, why? Do I look sick?"

"No, no, it's purely for educational purposes." He smiles.

Mona looks at him strangely. "Are you a doctor or something? Or just boyishly curious?"

"Huh? No! Nothing like that!" He drops his fork.

April reaches over to pick it up. "It's OK Mona, Donnie just thought it would be interesting to study another mutant. Over the years he's filled dozens of notebooks with information about him and his brothers. It's rather fascinating."

Donnie blushes at April's compliment. It's nice that she values his work. "The more I learn, the more helpful it will be if someone gets hurt or sick. Plus, getting information from you would help me find certain correlations in our two different species. It may even help me in making a stronger concoction of the retro mutagen.

"I don't know…" Mona says.

"I'll be there with you. Who knows, you might learn something cool about yourself." April says.

Mona looks at Donnie and April; they have big, goofy, nerdy smiles on their faces. "Sure guys, why not?"

…

Donatello sits on a metal stool, holding a wooden depressor. April sits beside him taking notes and Mona is sitting on the examination table across from them. "Ok Mona, stick out your tongue."

"Uh… are you sure?" Mona asks.

"Yes, I'd like to check your throat, see what percentage is human-like, and check the size of your glands."

"Ok… how far do you want me to stick out your tongue?"

Donnie and April look at each other. "As far as you can, I guess."

Mona looks up at the ceiling shyly and lets her tongue drop. It almost touches her knees.

Aprils eyes are bulging.

"Fascinating!" Donatello pokes at her tongue with his wooden tongue depressor. "It's long and sticky like a regular lizard. I wonder how long it can stretch." He points a flashlight down her throat.

"Abo thee theet." Mona mumbles.

"What?" April says.

Mona sucks her tongue back in her mouth. "About three feet, maybe more if I try."

"Would you like to try now?" Donnie whips out a measuring tape.

"Um, I'd rather not."

"Ok, lets move to your skin." Donnie says.

"Her skin?" April asks.

"Yes. The few species of lizards that can change color have a very limited selection of colors they can change. But Mona seems to have the ability to change into the same color of close objects, like the blue of our couch."

"Or brick." Mona says. "When Raphael found me I was sitting against a brick wall and I looked like the brick. Not just the color, but like I was made out of brick."

"That's amazing!" Donnie scribbles into his notebook. "You must have an exponentially complex cell system to have access to all of the hues. And since you're a thousand times smarter than a lizard, you may have the ability to change at will!" He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his favorite purple ink pen. "Here, can you change into this color?"

Mona takes the pen in her hands and stares at it. "I don't know how. I wasn't trying before."

"Maybe it's a defense mechanism." Donnie says as he continues to scribble and turn the page in his notebook.

Leonardo walks into the lab to check on his friends, and to make sure Donnie isn't going overboard. "Hey guys. How's it going?"

"I'd say pretty well." April says. "Mona is being a good sport."

"A good guinea pig, you mean." Mona rolls her eyes.

"Mona, I've got some really good stuff here." Donnie says as he closes his notebook. "After we're done, perhaps you can keep a journal. Write down anything new or something you've forgotten. We can go over it next time."

"Next time?" Mona whines. "You've been at this for an hour already! Poking me and prodding me, drawing blood and scales. I'm still the same height. I'm still the same weight, even with a three-foot tail tagging along behind me! I now have four fingers on my hands instead of five, three toes on each clawed foot, and my eyes can look in two different directions at once. What more do you want to know?"

Donnie shrugs. "Sorry, Mona. I don't mean to be so eager."

Mona sighs. "No, don't apologize, Donnie. I'm just finally realizing how ironic my life is turning out. I've become the thing I wanted to study in college. I wanted to write a thesis, not an autobiography."

Leo smiles.

Donnie snorts and chuckles at her comment. He looks up quickly. "Sorry, I thought it was funny."

"Well, I didn't mean to be." Mona huffs.

"Seems like you're starting to dealing with your mutation in a cynical way. I'd call that an improvement from sulking in a dark room, don't you think?" April says.

"I suppose… it's still depressing." Mona says.

Donnie sees her kick her legs back and forth. "So… you wanted to study herpetology?"

She looks up at him, surprised. "Yeah. I've always loved reptiles; how independent they are, how they adapt, how many beautiful colors they come in. I wanted to learn all about them. I wanted to get my degree and travel to South America, adventure in the jungle, and maybe discover a new species of lizard… I wanted to be known for something wonderful, doing something that I love." She ends sadly.

Leo purses his lips. "Don't worry, Mona. You don't have to give up on your dream. It may seem like your life is on hold for now, but things will get better."

"Yeah." Donnie chimes in. "We just need to find more mutagen. Then I'll have enough to make the retro mutagen."

"And then you could change me back?" Mona asks. "What should I do until then?"

"I suggest you use this time to take advantage of this new experience. You may not be a half-human half-lizard girl forever." Leo says.

Mona blinks at him. "So, you're telling me that I should 'enjoy' being a mutant for as long as I am one? Just jump right in and walk on the walls and eat more flies with my freakishly long tongue?"

"MORE flies?" Donnie, April, and Leo ask curiously.

"Never mind." She says quickly.

"Listen." Donnie sets his tools aside and faces her. "I'll never be a human. If I ever come in contact with the retro-mutagen, I turn back into a regular turtle."

April looks up from her book of notes and at Donatello when she hears his words. She had no idea that he was experimenting with such a dangerous concoction. He's risking his 'humanity' to help others; He had done so for her father, and now for Mona. Perhaps someday, Splinter. This thought warms her heart towards him all the more.

"It wasn't my choice, but I'm glad I was mutated." Donnie says. "I have the chance to become something an ordinary box turtle could never be."

"I understand but…" Mona fumbles.

Leo steps over to her. "I think it's time you stop dwelling on the negatives. Your dreams are still alive and waiting for you to fulfill them. I know that this is not where you want to be right now… but while you are a mutant, take hold of this new adventure with some optimism. Discover what's best about you as you are right now. You might actually start liking the new you."

Her brows rise at Leo's advice. "Hmm." She hops off of the table. "That might be hard, considering how much I liked wearing shoes." She smirks. "But, I'll give it a try."

"Good." April smiles.

"Alright, well, I'll be in the dojo." Leo leaves.

"What's he always going to the dojo for?" Mona asks Donnie.

"He meditates. It's a calming, refocusing exercise we ninja do from time to time… Leo is a ninja who meditates a lot more than the rest of us."

"So, he'll more than likely be alone in there."

"Pretty much, until dinner time."

"Huh." Mona pulls on her hood's drawstrings. "I think I'll join him." And she leaves.

"Mona meditating? Now THAT'S unbelievable." Donnie says to April.

"It's better than crying." April rolls her stool over to Donnie, who is seated back at his computer, typing away.

"Donnie, has Mona been acting OK while I'm at school?"

"Um, I'm not sure. I've been in my lab a lot in the past week."

"So, you haven't noticed that Raphael is avoiding her?"

Donnie looks up and spins around in his stool to face her. "Avoiding her? Why would he do that?"

April crosses her arms and gives him a devilish grin.

"No." Donnie says. "No way Raphael…"

"Oh, come on. Didn't you see how he acted this morning at breakfast? She hardly said three words to him and he ran away."

"No, I didn't see that." Donnie rubs the back of his neck. "I guess I was thinking about some…thing else."

"Shouldn't we be worried?" April asks him.

"Worried about what?"

"If what I'm guessing is true, it's probably best that Raph stays away from Mona."

"Why?"

April looks at him as if the answer is obvious. "Because, she's not going to be a mutant forever. She's going to be a human girl again someday."

Donatello nods at her words and looks away. "So, he should stay away from her… because he has no chance of dating a human girl?"

They stare at each other a moment, Donnie with a hint of sadness, and April, with anxiousness.

"Th-that's not how I meant it." April puts her hands in her lap. "Mona was not just a human girl. She was a high-maintenance, rich girl who wouldn't look twice at someone like Raphael. They are so different in so many ways, and I'm not talking about what's on the outside. I know Mona said she was sorry about how she was, but we're all she has right now. I'm not convinced yet that she has changed for the better, and I don't want Raph getting hurt."

He looks at her, a bit surprised. "You're serious about this. How are you so sure about all of this?"

"I'm sure because…" April can't say it. She's sure because she's seen it three times before. Michelangelo fell for Kala as soon as he pulled her helmet off. And Kala fell for him. Those two shared their feelings. Now, not even being in separate dimensions can weaken their bond. Leonardo too, even though theirs is a tragic kind of attraction, he has fallen for Karai. No one talks about it, but the electricity between Leo and Karai is so intense, when they fight, when they yell, even when they stare at each other from afar. They may be on different sides of the fight, but they are so much the same. April thinks that it's only a matter of time. And then there's Donatello, who had googly eyes for April since the day they met, when he caught her just in time from falling. And although April isn't ready, she's not going to hurt Donatello's feelings by leading him on. April sees the pattern. The turtles fall hard. It's an admirable trait, conveying loyalty and honesty, albeit a bit naïve. But not everyone is going to end up like Mikey and Kala, and even they aren't perfect. They can't even see each other when they want. But Raph and Mona? They don't make sense. April shakes her head. Love isn't impossible for Raphael, but he needs someone more grounded, someone who will like him for who he is and not what he can give. "I'm sure because, I know Mona better than you. AND I'm a kunoichi. I can just sense these things."

"Huh." Donatello says and turns back to his computer. "So if Mona were a humble, courageous, smart and friendly girl, who didn't need a big house and fancy clothes to feel special… if she could see Raph for who he really is, you wouldn't be worried? It would be OK for him to feel the way he does?"

April smiles slightly and looks down at her hands. "I think it would be more than OK."

"And what would you say he should do about those feelings, if he found such a wonderful girl?" He turns to her.

And she feels his eyes on her. Her whole being goes prickly. Oh, Donatello, ever ready to pour his heart out. He's being so bold. He lays a hand on hers, wanting her to look up at him, but she can't. She says the only thing she can right now. "Wait. I'd tell him to please wait… a little longer… and that being friends is the most important thing right now." She looks at him earnestly and a smile, hoping that he understands.

And he does. "That's good advice." He smiles back at her, happy that 'wait' doesn't mean no, and anything that doesn't mean 'no' gives him hope.

…

A/N: Ah! A lot of internal thoughts going on in this chapter, but they were needed. Excitement is coming, I promise!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6-Cheeky Sneak

"Hi, Leo?"

Leonardo, peacefully seated in a perfect lotus position, pops open one eye to see Mona kneeling before him. "Hello, Mona."

She stares at him and wonders if she's being rude by bothering him. "I can come back later."

"Now is a fine time. What's up?"

"A lot." She sits down and wraps her tail about her.

Leo relaxes, guessing that he won't be attaining oneness right now, and smiles. "Care to go into detail?"

"Well," She purses her lips. "I've been watching you, I mean, not like a creep, but just observing you and the others and… Are you the leader? The big brother?"

He finds her question interesting, but answers her calmly. "I am the assigned leader of our team and I am also the eldest brother."

"You seem like it. You're so relaxed and mature."

"Hmm." Leo grins. "Some of my brothers might call that boring."

"They don't mean it. They know that someone like you is needed."

Leo cocks his head to side, finding her choice of words odd. "Is there something you need from me?"

"I… do have a question…" Mona twirls the end of her ponytail around her finger, trying to find a way to say it. He's looking at her kindly but something about him is still so intimidating. "I'm sorry."

"Take your time." Leo says assuredly.

Mona smiles. "See? That's what I mean. You're easy to talk to… Would it be OK to talk to you whenever I… just need someone to listen… someone who won't… judge me?" She looks up at him.

Leo blinks. "I'd be honored. And whatever you tell me, you have my utmost confidence."

"Thank you." Mona sighs and jumps right in. "Can you tell me about Raphael?"

Leo raises both brows high. "Um… Raphael?"

"Yeah."

"OK… what do you want to know that you can't ask him yourself?" Leonardo knows better. Raphael is no open book. Though her question intrigues him, he doesn't want to seem too eager.

Mona shrugs. "I'm sure you've noticed that he and I aren't talking to each other. I did some things that made him angry and now I'm just invisible to him."

"Oh, I doubt that." He taps his hand against his knee and looks away for a moment. "He is very aware of your presence."

"So, why isn't he speaking to me?"

Leo covers his grin with his hand, not sure if he should tell her his whole theory. "Please understand that because we are mutants, we are a very tight unit. We don't know that many people, and the people we DO know are only around because we trust them greatly. It took a while for us to fully trust April, and then Casey came a long… Mikey is very easy-going, he'll try to befriend anyone. Raphael is harder to persuade."

"I've given him no good reason for him NOT to trust me!" Mona throws her hands up.

"Maybe, but you were once human. You were once living life on the other side of the fence. And also, you were bullying our friends at school."

Mona cheeks flush. "Yeah, I was a big snob. It's no secret now. But I've changed. I mean, I want to change. I just need to know how."

"Do you know who you are?" Leo asks her.

Mona looks at him, confused. "I… don't know."

"Why did you really change you name?"

The lizard girl looks away from him. "My parents left Lisa behind… they don't know Mona, so they can't hurt her."

Leo nods. "Until you are secure in your identity, how can Raphael trust you if you don't know who you are?"

Mona understands his logic, but it still hurts to hear that. "Don't you trust me?"

"With what?"

"Well, that I won't steal from you, that I'll keep you and your home a secret, that I'll help out and be the best friend that I can be, to show you all how grateful I am."

"Yes, I do trust you with those things. I believe we all do."

Mona blinks. "Then are you saying that Raphael doesn't trust me with something else?"

Leo smiles. "That is a good question. You should ask him."

Mona sighs, but nods anyway. She's still not sure what to do, but is still glad that someone is listening to her. "I think you're right. I don't really know the new me, I've been afraid. I don't know where to start."

"How about we start with what you think is the most unique thing about your mutated state."

Mona taps her chin in thought. "Most unique thing… I know! My skin!"

"What about your skin?"

"It changes color. It changed a few times before, but I didn't control it and I think I was stressed at the time."

"That's a good place to start. You have the gift of camouflage. Maybe you can control it if you concentrate. Would you like to try?"

"Sure!"

"OK. Now, sit like me, relax your shoulders and close your eyes… I do not have the ability to change the color of my skin, but I think an imagery exercise may work.

Mona does as she's instructed, breathing evenly and clearing her mind. She listens to his voice, keeping barely conscious.

"Think of a bright, sunny say. It is very warm outside. The birds are singing. You are able to fly into the air with them. You fly so high that you can run your fingers across the sky. It's big and blue and warm. So warm that you want to wrap yourself in its blue essence… feel the sky sink into your hands, your arms, and your face. Hide in its warmth. Become the sky… No one can see the old you. You have become the sky." Leo peeks at Mona and sees… that she is smiling and her skin has turned the shade of a midday, cloudless sky, bright and pure.

"Open you eyes, Mona."

Mona does so and looks at her hands. "Wow! I felt it, and it worked! I'm blue!" She waves her hands around excitedly. "Let's do another color! Help me do another one!"

And they go back and forth for another twenty minutes until Mona gets through the entire rainbow. She squints her eyes. "I can feel it leaving." She exhales and her scales quickly ink back from a fiery red to her true, green hue. "That was a little tiresome."

"But you did it. It's like working a muscle. You'll get stronger with practice." Leo says.

"I thought lizards and chameleons could only change when they are near something of the same color. This is way cooler."

"I think so too." Leo says.

"I can't believe it…" Moan looks at her hands again, now with more appreciation. "I wouldn't have been able to do that without you… you really are a big brother."

Despite his previous confession of not having the same power, his cheeks turn red at her compliment. "Anytime, Mona."

Mona stands and stretches. "Oh, and about Raph, I think I'll wait a while longer before I talk to him. Maybe my actions will speak louder than words and he'll come to me when he's ready."

"That's a good idea for now. But if he's becoming increasingly stubborn, I'll talk to him myself."

Mona smiles and turns to leave, but spins back around. "Oh, there is one more thing, Leo… If you and your brothers have time, when you go on patrol again, could you maybe swing by my house and tell me what you see?"

"That's not a problem. Would you like us to gather some things of yours if they are still there?"

"Oh, no. That's too much trouble. I wouldn't ask you to do that."

"You're not asking. I'm offering." Leo stands and stretches as well. "Make a list of things for us to look for, and we'll bring them back for you, if we can."

Mona looks away for a moment. There is so much that she wants to let go of from that life. But luckily, most of her possessions where bought without parental interactions, such as clothes, books and other personal items. "OK. I will. Thank you, Leo."

...

Finally. FINALLY! The big reveal is at hand!

Donatello had to delay because of the arrival of Mona. But now, he gets to show his stuff! With his brothers, Mona, April… and Casey standing before in him in the large garage, Donatello poses triumphantly, sporting his white lab coat with the sleeves rolled up. His black goggles hang around his neck, and he didn't even bother wiping away the motor oil from his face and hands, thinking it adds to his super, cool look. Behind him is something massive that is covered up with an also massive tarp. He smiles a wide, gapped smile at them as he marches over to a long rope. "Ladies and gentlemen… and Casey…" He grabs the rope. "I present to you… the T-Copter!"

He pulls the rope and the tarp falls away. Everyone gasps at Donatello's latest marvel. The T-Copter is impressive looking. It's shaped like an aerodynamic turtle shell with long propellers sitting on top. A third of the front portion is the cockpit, where the pilot sits. There are a lot of controls and buttons on the dash, all of which only Donatello can understand. The back two thirds of the copter is the cabin with lots of room for his brothers and supplies. At the very back is a tail with a rudder that all other helicopters have. The entire contraption is fashioned in a strange, black material.

No on has said a word yet, so Michelangelo raises his hand.

"Yes, Mikey?" Donnie points to him.

"Donnie, let me first say that the T-Copter is the most awesome thing you have ever built."

"Thank you." Donne nods.

"I know you wouldn't just build a normal helicopter for fun. What special stuff did you build into it?"

"I'm glad you asked!" The brilliant turtle opens and hops into the pilot's chair in the cockpit. "This baby is stuffed full of tech! It has access to every GPS unit in the world, top maneuverability in control, has enough room in the cabin to add two side firing weapons, and runs on mulch!"

"Mulch?" Raphael asks.

"Decaying vegetation, natural garbage that gives off gasses to power the engine!" Donnie says. "And check this out." Donatello powers up the copter and the propellers start to spin. The go faster and faster and the wind forces everyone to take a few steps back. Then, when it seems that the blades can't spin any faster, the copter lifts off of the ground and silences dramatically.

"How? How are blades running so smoothly?" April asks him.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Donnie says. "I'm hardly yelling and you can hear every word. That's because I've designed the six blades of the propellers into a shape that dampens the sound of them cutting through the air. This will help whether we're sneaking up on the enemy or trying to make a stealthy escape!"

"This is an amazing invention, Donnie, but…" Leo says cautiously. He knows that his brother works very hard on everything he creates to make their lives easier. Leo hates having to play the devil's' advocate, but it comes with the job as leader. "How can we be safe flying through the city in such an… impressive machine without someone trying to shoot us down?"

"I am so glad you asked! Again!" Donatello flips a few switches. "Take a look, if you can… just a little something I borrowed from our Neutrino friend." Donnie closes the cockpit door and in a matter of seconds, the T-Copter disappears.

"Holey Hockey Pucs!" Casey's jaw drops. He can still hear the low hum, can still feel the blasts of air. He walks closer and reaches out. He touches the hard metal, watching the space ripple and glisten under his fingers.

Donnie powers down the copter, deactivates the invisibility mode, and jumps out. "See? It's the same technology that gave Kala's hotrod invisibility."

"Whoa! My girl AND my bro are super geniuses!" Mikey smiles pompously.

Donatello coolly puts his hands in his pockets and saunters over to April. "So, what do you think?"

April shakes her head. "Donnie, it's incredible!"

"I still need to take it on a test run, but after, maybe you and I could take it for a spin around the city."

"Sounds like a plan, my man!" Casey slaps a hand hard on his shell. "I bet you can find so much more mutagen this way."

"Heh, that's the plan." Donnie gives him the side eye.

Mona had been in awe the entire time. She knew that Donatello was smart for a while now, but this is… "Hey, Donnie?"

"Yes, Mona?"

"Will you please mentor me in science and the like? I know it's a lot to ask but, I had no idea you could do all of this stuff, and I haven't been to school for a while, and I don't want to get rusty, and I know that anything you have to offer would help me towards becoming a herpetologist." She rambles excitedly.

Donatello is dumbfounded. To think, someone actually wants to learn from him! "I… I…"

April sees this exchange and becomes immediately uncomfortable. He knows that he wants to say yes, but is hesitating for April's sake. April rolls her eyes. "He'd love to. Come to think of it, I have a lot to learn as well." April turns to him. "I don't suppose you'd like two students, would you? After all, Mona and I will be seniors next year and we could use a great tutor."

The two girls look up at him smiling, anticipating his answer. Now Mona AND April want him as their tutor… their private tutor… sitting in his lab, raising their hands, getting to pat April on the head when she get's a right answer… "I…I…"

Casey huffs loudly as the two girls ogle the big, green, nerd. So what if he built an invisible helicopter? He's not better than Casey Jones! He wraps his arm tightly Donnie's shoulders. "Hey, Dorkatello! If you're giving study sessions, I might as well join in. I'm gonna be a senior next year too!"

"If you're lucky." Donnie muffles.

"What did you say?" Casey snarls.

"Nothing… OK, I'll do it. I'll be your tutor."

"Thanks, Donnie." The girls say.

Leo walks over and taps Donnie on his shoulder. "Donnie, I'm sold. The T-Copter is great. And I think tonight would be a good time to test it out during our patrol."

"Really? OK, I'll recheck the diagnostics and get it ready for tonight!"

Leo nods and walks out of the garage. Taking the T-copter will be a big help this evening, especially after receiving the laundry list of items that Mona had given him.

Casey, Mikey and Raphael leave the garage too, raring to get back to their pinball competition.

April's cell buzzes and she slides it open. She looks at the message and smiles. She then begins to tap in her response. She waits a few moments and gets another buzz. This time, she laughs out loud when she reads it.

Mona looks over her shoulder. "Who ya talking to?"

April looks up at her warily. "No one. It's just Irma."

_That's right_, Mona thinks to herself. _Irma hasn't been down to see me since my mutation._ "Oh, I thought it might have been a boyfriend or something."

The loud clang of tools dropping to the floor gets the girls' attention and Donatello gives them a shaky, "S-sorry about that." He begins to pick up his mess.

Mona walks over to Donnie to help him. "Can you tell Irma I said hi, and for her to come down here with you sometime and visit me?" She asks April.

April sends her text and puts her phone away. "Irma isn't going to come here anytime soon, Mona."

"Oh… is it because I was so mean to her that she still wants nothing to do with me, even after I turned into a lizard?"

April shakes her head. "No it's…"

"OW!" Donatello bends down and grabs his foot.

"Sorry, Donnie! I didn't know that wrench was so heavy! I'll go get you some ice!" And Mona dashes off to the kitchen.

April shakes her head, wondering how she's going to get through this weekend with Mona being so flighty. She kneels beside Donatello and helps him with the rest of his tools. "Did I apologize already for bringing her down here?"

"I think so, but you can apologize again, if you'd like." Donnie says and they laugh.

"You know… the T-copter really is a great invention and… I would like it if we went for spin sometime." She smiles at him.

Feeling as if he's about to drop his tools for the second time, he holds fast to his toolbox and looks at her with widening eyes. "Really?"

April looks at him. She grins and wipes a smudge of motor oil off the tip of his nose ridge. "Of course." April walks away. "I'll leave you to your work. I've got some assignments of my own to finish. See you later?"

"Later." Donatello says as he absently covers his nose with his hand and smiles dreamily.

Mona, holding a baggie of ice, walks by April and looks into the garage just in time to see the stupid, love-struck expression on Donatello's face.

She's almost standing next to him before he acknowledges her. "Mona! I didn't see you come in."

"Welcome back to Earth, my friend." She hands him the ice.

He sits on a bench, treating his poor, baby toe. He hisses at the chill of the ice on his foot. "Thanks." He says.

Mona sits down beside him, quietly looking around. The garage is expansive. There's a decked out van parked near the entrance, a strange-looking glider and an overhauled subway train. There are sketches and blue prints all over one wall hanging above a long desk, littered with every type of tool. Donatello must have spent years getting the garage to what it is now. Mona feels that she has a lot to learn.

Mona looks over at him and his cheeks are still rosy. _Over April? Oh, my gosh! I wan to know, but I can't just come out and ask him. Hmm, how do I make him tell me?_ "Say, Donnie, I think I'd like to take a ride in the T-Copter."

He smiles. "Sure. We can all go soon. We'll make a night of it."

"But, I want to learn how to fly. Maybe you could teach me?"

He looks over at her and smiles. "Sure, if you really want to learn. I'm self-taught, of course."

"Great, so you and I can go by ourselves so we're not distracted. We'd be all alone… together… Would that be alright?"

He looks at her sideways and sets the ice baggie on the bench between them. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you know…" Mona picks up the baggie of ice and drops it on the floor. She slides close to him and rubs her shoulder against his. "Just the two of us, flying through a starry night, leaving the sewers far behind us. Wouldn't you like that?"

_Oh, no! It's happening for real this time!_ Donatello doesn't know what to say or do. Is Mona for real? He takes a big gulp. "Er, Mona, maybe we should talk about this…"

"Enough talk!" She grabs him by the collar of his lab coat. "Just a simple yes or no! If you say yes, then we go in your copter and fly away right now. Say no… and you'll have to tell me why."

"But…"

"Yes or No!"

"It's no then!"

"Why?" Mona she purrs at him, batting her big, doe-like eyes. She loves how flustered he's become. Good! Any moment he'll spill the beans and tell him what she wants to know.

"I… I can't say why."

She looks at him and pushes him away. _Now's the time to give it all I've got. I wasn't president of the drama club for nothing._ She swings her head back around to face him, tears glisten in her eyes. She holds her fist up to her chest and pouts. "Donnie, I don't know what it is about you! Is it your huge brain, or the way you whistle through your teeth when you nap in the lab?"

"What?" Donnie squeaks.

"If you don't tell me why you can't be with me, then I'll never be able to move on! If you don't tell me why, then I'll have no choice but to follow you wherever you go! I'll serve you your favorite cocoa in your favorite cup! I'll sit beside you and feed you popcorn when we watch movies. I'll confess to your brothers, to Casey, to Sensei… to APRIL… how I feel about you! I won't hide my heart, unless you set me free and tell me why I'm not the one!"

Donatello's eyes go all white and dizzy. Mona must be nuts. There is no way, in such a short amount of time, that Mona would feel this way about him. But look at her, practically begging for his answer. All he can think of is how he so wishes April was in her place, wanting to do all of those things for him. He then realizes that, as scary as it seems, he had felt strongly about April during the first moments of meeting her. April! What would she do if she saw Mona feeding him popcorn?! What should he do?

He does the only thing he can. He places his hands on her shoulders and gently nudges her. "I can't, Mona. I'm sorry, but… I like someone else."

_Time to drive it on home!_ Mona yells and turns from begging to belligerent. She bares her claws. "Who she? I'll tear her limb from limb! I'll pop her head like a cork!"

"You won't lay a finger on my April!" He says sternly.

"HA!" Mona breaks character in an instant. She stands and points at him. "I knew it! I knew it! Doop de doop!" She dances around. "I knew you would tell me! Donnie loves April! Donnie loves April!"

"Quiet you!" Donnie jumps up and covers her big mouth. "I can't believe you tricked me! All of those things you said…"

"I was good, right? If I couldn't have made it in science, I was gonna go to Hollywood."

"Awesome…" Donnie sits back down on the bench. "Why'd you do that?" He groans, rubbing his eyes.

"I saw the way you looked at April when she left. And I was certain you weren't going to tell me if I plainly asked. It was more fun this way." She smiles at him deviously.

"Hmph. So you like torturing people. Turns out you have a twisted sense of humor, just like Raph."

_Me? Just like Raph? Why does this feel less like a flaw and more like a compliment to me?_ Mona asks herself as she sits back down on the bench. "Sorry if I took it too far, it's just, I think it's adorable."

"You do? How come you don't think it's sad that I, a mutant turtle, has feelings for a human girl?"

Mona shrugs. "I dunno. I'd think it would be more sad if you fell in love with a regular turtle. Not much you two could talk about there!"

"You are strange." Donnie says.

"And YOU are trying to get off topic!" She jabs a finger into his arm. "So… April O'Neil. I've gotten to know her over the past couple of weeks and I see that she's a really good person."

"Yeah, she's not LAME at all."

Mona cocks her head to the side. "So, she told you I called her that… I'm sorry for it now. Though, Raph said it was rather witty."

"I'm not surprised." Donnie rolls his eyes.

"Why April?" Mona faces him, eager to hear the juicy bits.

"I don't know where to begin… From the moment I first saw her, I… I know it sounds corny."

Mona gets a flicker of remembrance of first laying eyes on Raphael. She had never seen anything like him in her life, never thought she ever would. There was something striking about him in that moment, but she let the feeling pass. All she had cared about at the time was how afraid and alone she was. After, she had only felt reciprocal irritability with Raphael. Now that life has settled, she wonders that what she had felt when meeting the red-banded turtle is similar to what Donatello experienced with April. "It doesn't sound that corny." Mona's eyes wander around the garage. "Is April ignoring how you feel or is she really that dumb?"

"That's a bit harsh."

"I think it's harsh that you two haven't talked about this yet! There's no use in wasting time, beating around the bush."

He looks up to the ceiling. "You may be right about that… if I had a bush, it would be beaten down to the roots." He looks at her and sighs. "I think I allowed April to know just enough about how I feel. If she knew any more, it may send her running." He laughs to himself, not because it's funny, but because he realizes how much he longs to be that much closer to her. "If now isn't a good time for her, what else can I do? I'm not going to force her. And we're all teenagers, for crying out loud. We have our whole lives to live… I like that she's here, and I like that she's my friend… a friend for life. Shouldn't that be enough for now?"

"I don't know, should it?"

"It has to be. I don't have a choice."

"Hmm." Mona crosses her arms and stares at him, intently trying to understand his quiet strength. "I don't get it. How can you hang around someone you like and keep your feelings bottled up so well? If I liked someone, and I couldn't tell them, I would keep my distance so I don't say or do something stupid."

Donnie grins at her and pokes her back. "It's a good thing not everyone in the world thinks like the Magnificent Mona." When she scrunches her lips at him, Donatello can imagine, all to well, his brother Raphael making the same face. This makes him think back to the conversation he and April had a few days ago. Perhaps this is why Raph is avoiding Mona. "Then again, I bet there are a few out there out there who would agree with you completely."

"I know." Mona gets up and heads out the door. It's clear that Donatello isn't going to make any major moves. So, Mona decides to help him out, speed things along. A little force never hurt anyone. "I was serious about one thing, Donnie." She says before walking out the door. "I do want to learn how to fly that T-Copter."

"Sure, Sure. Next week." Donnie waves her off and he goes back to his tinkering.

"Kay, bye!" And she hops away.

_What a weird girl. She's finally opening up. I guess we're going to start to meet the REAL Mona Lisa_, Donatello thinks to himself.

…

Around 2am

Donatello mans the controls of the T-Copter. Everything is green on the screen and the maiden voyage is going perfectly. Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo are in the cabin, looking out over the city. It's rare they get the chance to take in the sparkling lights from this peaceful height. They live in a wonderful city. From here, they see why it's so important to fight for it.

A purple blip on the screen starts to beep. "Hey guys? I think I found one. It's right below us on the ground, about three thousand feet."

"Three thousand feet? Wow. Hey, look, Raph. I can cover up the Empire State Building with my thumb!" Mikey says.

"Do me a favor an stop remindin' us how high we are." Raphael is feeling a bit uneasy. Jumping from building to building is one thing, but there are no buildings to latch onto way up here.

"Take us down easy, Don. Is our stealth mode on?"

"It's been on the entire time. We're good." Donnie pushes on the throttle and the T-Copter descends. A few minutes later, they land on top of an old, abandoned building among tall, dirty smokestacks. The turtles fan out; making sure the area is deserted. Donnie detaches his Mutagen Locator and follows the dot on the screen.

They come to the end of the building when Leo signals for them to stop. "Do you hear that?" Small chitterling and scraping can be heard. Leo points to a trash can against the far wall.

They creep up to it slowly and Raphael steps forward and peaks inside. "What the?"

Mikey pushes up behind him and peers into the dented trashcan. "Oh! It's a raccoon!"

"Yeah and it's gnawin' on a canister of mutagen!" Raph exclaims.

"Well, just reach in and take it." Mikey shrugs.

"Ain't no way I'm doin' that! The thing probably got rabies."

"We have to get that canister away from it. We don't need another mutant ANYTHING smashing up the city." Leo says.

"We need to distract it without knocking the can over and possibly breaking the canister." Donnie thinks aloud.

"I got it!" Mikey pulls out a slice of pizza from his utility belt. "Maybe little Rocky would like some week-old pizza?"

"Ugh! Disgusting! Mikey, that's rank!" His brothers groan.

Mikey places the putrid pizza on the lip of the can. Moments later the raccoon pokes his nose out, sniffs the gift of food, takes it in his hands, jumps out of the can and ambles away. Mikey reaches in and claims the glowing container of alien chemicals.

"Good job, Mikey." Leo rolls his eyes.

"Great. We found one. Now let's hurry back in the copter and find another one."

"We can't." Donnie says.

"Why not?" Raph asks loudly, startling his brothers. Raphael is anxious, his brothers can see that, but they're not entirely sure why.

"Well, Raph, my mutagen tracking device only picks ups canisters nearby. Right now, the only canister my device is locating is the one we just found."

"So you're saying that we can only find one canister at a time?" Raph says.

"My Mutagen Tracker isn't sophisticated enough to locate multiple targets. I've been working on increasing its range, but I'll need some new software and hardware for more tracings. Until then, this is all we have."

"Yeah, that and dumb luck." Raph folds his arms and walks back to the copter.

"What's with him?" Donnie asks.

Mikey sighs. "I don't know, guess he wants to get rid of Mona as soon as possible."

"Hmm." Donnie and Leo look at each other a moment; Leo, wondering if what he's been privately thinking could be true, and Donnie, wondering if what April had told him has some merit.

"If we're done, can we go now? I'm hungry." Raph calls out from the copter.

Mikey chuckles at his hotheaded brother. Raphael's feet are all that can be seen hanging out of the invisible copter.

"It is late, and we haven't run into any trouble. I'd like to get back and prep this canister for transformation into retro mutagen." Donnie says.

"Actually," Leo gets his brother's attention. "There is one more thing I'm delegating us to do before we head back."

"And what's that?" Mikey asks.

"Mona asked us if we could swing by and investigate the status of her home. I think she needs some closure and it's too dangerous for her to go there herself."

Raphael doesn't say anything, but Mikey and Donnie give an eager, "OK."

"Good. I'll give you the address, Donnie." Leo says.

They head back to the copter and fly off towards one of the nicer neighborhoods of New York.

…

Landing silently on the roof, Donatello powers the copter down. He removes yet another device from his belt and switches it on. "I'm checking for any security systems that might inhibit us from entering."

Once he gives the OK, Leo unlocks an attic window, and the brothers jump inside the dark, dusty alcove. Raphael finds the door in the floor that leads down to the main areas of the house. They climb down and turn their flashlights on low.

"So, what are we looking for? Empty rooms? Donnie asks.

"Does she want us to bring back her favorite teddy bear or something?" Mikey asks.

Leonardo goes down the wide hallway. He opens a door and looks inside. He smiles. "Something like that. I guess they didn't get rid of much yet." He pulls out a piece of paper from his belt. "We are going to take some things back to Mona."

"We're doin' what now?"

"I offered to grab a few personal items for her. The house isn't totally empty, which means her things could still be here." Leo rips up the long list into for pieces and hands them to his brothers. "We'll work faster if we split up. Most are small items, but I think she went a little overboard."

"Hmm." Donnie looks at his list. "We're going to need a few trash bags."

"Cool, a scavenger hunt! I bet I find all my stuff before you, Raph!" Mikey says as he runs downstairs.

"I bet you will, cause I ain't doin' this." Raphael crumbles up his portion of the list and tosses it to the floor.

Leo picks up the discarded paper and looks at his crude brother. "Raph, I've let this go for a long while, hoping you'd get over this funk by yourself, but you're failing miserably." He pushes the list into Raphael's chest. "You are going to do this for her, because we help people in need, we help those who can't help themselves… and she's done nothing to you to warrant your childish behavior."

Raphael grimaces at his oldest brother and begrudgingly palms the list in his hands. Leo walks away and Raph stands there feeling a bit foolish. He looks over at Donatello who had seen the whole thing. "Th-heck you lookin' at!"

"Nothing." Donnie buries his face in his list and follows Mikey downstairs.

Raphael sighs harshly and looks down at his list. He knows why he didn't fight back with Leo, and it makes him sick. He just didn't want to willingly do anything nice for Mona. What Raph doesn't know is that Leo had known this. Leo had played along with Raph's little protest so that his grumpy brother could save face.

Raphael trails behind Leo. First thing on his list: Nail polish collection in the silver box on the dresser. "Perfect."

…

A/N: Raphael is just so moody. I love it! Mona is coming into her own. But it may cause more trouble than it's worth. She's not going to stop until she sees results. So yeah, she's a little trouble maker and will me more so in the next chapter! Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays and a happy NEW YEAR!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Hello and Happy New Year! I want to say that I appreciate all of the comments and followers.

Welcome to Teen-Angst Town!

…

Chapter 7-Dojo Mojo

…

"I can't believe you talked me into this." April says as she watches Mona lay on another coat of green nail polish on her left hand. With her right hand, April lifts it to her mouth to stifle a yawn.

"Careful you don't ruin your nails!" Mona says to her. "There. See? It's cute."

April lifts up her hands and scrutinizes over the olive green lacquer. "The application looks nice, but it's never been me, you know? And why do you even have green nail polish?"

"I used it for Halloween once. I was a witch."

"I bet you were." April grins. "Hey, why didn't you paint my index fingers?"

"Because, you're getting an accent color!" Mona is beside herself with glee. She couldn't believe her eyes when she discovered the four bags of stuff the Turtles left at her bedroom door earlier this morning. She woke up April, who had been sleeping in the hammock. Mona was rummaging through the bags, making noises, happy to have some of her things again. They brought her hair dryer and combs, her pink scarves collection, her giant pillow, and other little things that make her smile. And when she saw that they even brought her manicure set, she thought it a grand idea to show some thanks to April by giving her a mini makeover. April had just rolled out of bed, and when she came back from the bathroom, Mona had her bottles of polish up and ready for her. Mona had sat April at the edge of the bed, telling her that it's never too early to look your best.

"So, which color should I use as an accent? You seem to have all the colors." April says.

Mona grins. "I don't know, blue would go well with your eyes, red with your hair… but I think PURPLE would look the best on you."

"What about gold?" April asks her. "Or black?"

"No, no, purple is the one. Hold out your hand."

April reluctantly obeys. She looks at the smirk on Mona's lips as the plum-colored paint glides onto her slender digit. April blinks and pulls her hand away. "I think I should pick a different color. What about white?"

Mona ignores here and keeps her finger steady. "So, what's up with you and Donnie?"

"That question came out of nowhere." April says, but then looks at the purple nail polish on her pointer finger and it all makes sense. "I want a different color."

"Don't try to dodge my question."

"You're rather pushy this morning."

"It's a gift, now spill it. You and Donnie got a thing going?" Mona says as she lightly blows on the newly painted nail and moves to her other hand.

April sighs and gives an irritated look at the nosy, mutant teen. "Nothing is going on. Donnie and I are friends, really, good friends."

"He has a major crush on you." Mona says bluntly.

"I know." April says a matter-of-factly.

"Well... you're probably driving him crazy. What're you going to do about it?"

"There is nothing to do about it, especially right now."

"What does that even mean!" Mona throws her hands up at April's stubbornness. She returns to her manicuring, picking up a clear topcoat. "What if I told you that I or even Irma had the hots for Donnie? Would you do something about it then?"

April looks at her with shock. She had already ridden the emotional rollercoaster when Kala was here. She will not do it again! "Mona, for one, I bet you like yourself too much to worry about anyone else right now. And Irma doesn't even know..."

"Hey!" Mona puts up a hand and cuts her off quickly. "I'm not entirely shallow! I've been a mutant lizard for almost a month now and it has really humbled me!" She clutches and hand to her chest, trying to look hurt by April's accusation. "I see something happening between you and Donnie and I just want to help. You've both helped me so much."

"I don't need a matchmaker, Mona." April rolls her eyes.

"Of course you do. Give me one reason why you two shouldn't date."

"There are a handful of reasons." April shakes her head.

"Huh." Mona raises a brow. She sets April's left hand on top of the dresser and picks up her right. "I can't say I would give the Turtles a second look if I was still Lisa Kingsley... but now that I know them, I can appreciate their individual characters; there is something very appealing about him..."

"Him?" April questions her.

"I, I meant THEM." Mona clears her throat. "Come on, April. What is it that you can't get passed; the green, mutant turtle part, or the dangerous, teenage ninja gig?"

"What?" April raises her voice.

"I understand we all have standards and convictions. I guess you can't see yourself dating Donnie cause he's not human like you... too bad."

"I never said that!" April yells a bit too loudly. Boy, if her hands weren't wet with pretty paint, she'd strangle her. April drops her tense shoulders, thinking that Mona couldn't be more wrong about her last comment. After all, April is only half-human herself. "Mona, I'm only going to say this once, not because you deserve an explanation, but so you never have the need to annoy me with this subject again... We're in the middle of a war between the Purple Dragons gang, an evil, Japanese syndicate known as the Foot, and a hostile race of inter-dimensional aliens trying to take over New York!"

"Ugh! Again with the aliens!" Mona shuts her eyes.

"Yes!" April affirms. "The same aliens who took my mother away from me, who kidnapped my father multiple times, and who also made the mutagen that turned you into a lizard."

"Half-lizard." Mona interjects.

"Are you even listening!" April stares into Mona's eyes. "This is why I can't do it! Being selfish by giving into my feelings, while all of this mayhem is going on, might hurt Donnie more in the future... I can't do that to him... I won't."

"Sounds like you're scared." Mona adds while twisting the caps back on her polish.

"Maybe." April looks away. "But, I'd rather focus on becoming as strong as I can be, so I can fight alongside him and my friends, so we can win this war and save New York as soon as possible... So I can finally give in."

Mona stays silent a moment, thinking about how grown-up April is acting. _She is so boring! Why can't she let go and have fun with Donnie?_ "You're done."

April fans out her fingers. She never understood why women did this, but now, it feels kind of nice, even if it is girly. And the purple polish doesn't bother her too much. Still, she hopes that a certain turtle doesn't get the wrong idea.

"April, I see where you're coming from, I do... but I think you're super wrong. You can't always wait for what you want just because it'll be easier to have later! Example, I love clothes. My favorite designer, Zera Fang; her spring line, perfection! There was the most gorgeous dress; a rose-pink, silk, tea-length, spaghetti strapped gown, with delicate embroidery. Now, I could have waited for the local boutique to have it in stock. I could have waited for the $2,300 gown to go on sale. NO WAY! I had to have it immediately! If I had waited for a bargain, it would have been too late. And then I'd be stuck trying to find something from last season, and that would have been super embarrassing!"

Mona pauses, smiling happily at the memory of that dress.

April brings her back. "So, I'm guessing you got the dress and you lived happily ever after?"

Mona blinks. "Well... no." Mona falls back onto the mattress and looks over at April. "The dress was delivered last week at my house, streamed and tailored and ready for next month's spring dance."

"Oh... I'm sorry, Mona." April says softly.

"Don't be. It's in one of the bags the boys brought back! I don't know when or where I'm going to wear it, but it still feels good to have it! My point is, I got the dress I wanted. I wasn't afraid that something would happen and I couldn't wear it... get it?"

April looks at her strangely, but smiles. "Yeah."

Mona nods and gets up. "I'm going to go start my day. You have to stay here and let your nails dry, should probably take a couple hours in this damp place."

"A couple of hours? What the heck do I do until then?" April says.

Mona digs her hand into one of her bags and pulls out a magazine. "Here, read this. It's my favorite issue."

April reads aloud one of the articles. "'How To Wear Pink All Year Round'… wonderful."

"I'll be back later. And think about what I said. Enjoy!" Mona takes her towel, hair dryer and comb and goes to the bathroom.

April takes one more look at the magazine before placing it over her face. She decides that she doesn't want to think about anything right now and soon drifts back to sleep.

…

Hours later, Raphael is found walking up and down the hall passed the girls' guestroom. Every time he is about to knock, he changes his mind and goes to the other end of the hall. He feels that it's time to talk to her, but he's trying to figure out his angle. In his mind, after what he and his brothers did for her last night by 'going on a shopping spree in her old house', she owes him a big thank you. And if she doesn't say 'thank you', he'll have to make her feel guilty about it. Either way, he would have confronted her, that's points for him. He doesn't even want her to be here!

He stops when he reaches the opposite end of the hall. He looks out into the large living area. This is his home, the only one he's ever known. Where would he and his brothers go if it were taken from them? "Certainly not a brownstone in Brooklyn." He mumbles. He sighs and wipes a palm over his face. He looks up quickly, glad that no one is around to see him feeling bad for her. "Fine!"

Raphael turns around and marches back down the hall. He plants himself in front of the door and knocks. If she has to stay here, and they have to interact, she's going to have to do so on his terms.

The door opens.

He poses, nonchalantly leaning his hand on the doorframe, with a 'no nonsense' expression on his face. "We need to talk, Missy." He surprisingly looks down at a head of messy, red hair and a not-so-amused look on her face.

"About what? And who are you calling Missy?" April grumbles, just awaking from her midday nap.

"April! I…"

She blinks the sleep from her eyes and looks at her shaken friend. She smiles. "I'm guessing you weren't expecting me."

"No, I mean…"

April's smile grows. "So, is Missy the nickname you gave Mona?"

"Cut it out, April. I don't call her nothin'."

"Oh, my bad… anyway, Mona's not here."

"OK." And he quickly walks away.

"Wait!" April calls and catches up to him. "Why did you want to talk to her?"

Raph stops and looks over at April, not at all hiding his aggravation. "Like you don't know. You saw all those bags! She had us packin' up her stuff and hauling it here like we're her freakin' errand boys!"

"Come on, Raph. It wasn't that bad. It was four bags, and you had the T-Copter. It's not like you had to carry them back on your shells."

"That ain't the point. I can't have her thinkin' she can command us to do any dumb thing that comes to that pretty little head of hers!"

April stays quiet a beat too long at the word 'pretty'. She can't stop smiling. "You know it's not like that. It would have been too dangerous for her to go out, with or without you. Gosh, does it kill you that much to do something nice for someone?"

"Not just someone. Her! She ain't got me fooled. She ain't using me! Last night, it was special delivery. What's next? She'll want us to paint her room pink and have us runnin' around in aprons!"

April laughs out loud. "Where do you come up with this stuff?"

Raphael growls out his frustration. He goes to sit on the lip of the diving pool. He'd be fine if his bad mood sends April away. But there is something comforting about her taking a seat right beside him.

"What's really going on, Raph?" April asks him quietly.

"I saw where she came from. Last night, while we were in her house… I never seen anything like it. Movies and TV don't compare. Her house was amazing. I could only imagine living there, sleepin' in those soft beds, and watchin' my favorite shows on those huge TVs and…" He shakes his head. "She was like a princess, and now all she has is this." He waves a hand around his home. "I ain't jealous or nothin', it's just comin' from a place like that, she must be so miserable…"

April is amazed at his words. In some small way, Raph is trying to say that he feels sorry for Mona. "So, why have you been so hard on her?"

"Cause she's a brat!"

"Yes, I agree, but I think she's slowly getting out of that. We just need to give her a chance." She looks over at the grimace on his face. He's definitely conflicted by something. "I was at her house, only once. It was the day she had mutated and all she wanted to do was to go home and get help from her parents. We all know how that turned out… what I'm saying is that someone can have a lot of money and have a lot of things, but never have good friends, a loving family, and a sense of belonging. You have that, Raph. I don't think anyone is going to tease you for sharing just a little bit of the great things you have."

"Hmph…" Raph hums in thought. You're right but… is it bad that I don't want to share anything with her, because all she'll do is throw it away in the end?"

"What do you mean?" April asks him.

"Nothin'." Raphael stands. "OK, I'll be nice to her, but I think we need to lay down a few rules for your friend if she's gonna keep stayin' here. I don't want her givin' me anymore shoppin' lists." Raphael smirks.

"Rules huh, I'm curious to see how that works out... And stop calling her my friend." April pouts.

"Ha." Raphael laughs as they head towards the kitchen. "Judgin' by your new nails, I'd say you're besties."

"Don't go there, Missy." April giggles.

They walk back through the living area and past the dojo doors. Raphael freezes at the sound of grunting and hard breathing coming from inside.

April runs into his shell. "Why did you stop?"

"Shh! Listen." Raphael hisses.

April looks at him strangely but stretches an ear to the dojo. And she hears them; two voices on the other side of the door.

…

"Are you warmed up, Mona?" Donatello asks her.

"I'm really hot!" Mona groans.

"You look hot… come here and sit. I want to show you something."

April and Raphael hear the shuffling of feet. Something rustles about.

"Wow, Donnie, it's so big!" Mona awes.

"You think so?" Donnie says with pride.

"Yeah! Do your brothers have ones as big as yours?"

"Not even close."

…

"What in the…" Raphael whispers from behind the door.

April just stands there, breathless.

…

"Impressive… can I touch it?" Mona asks casually.

"Sure, I don't see why not." Donnie says.

…

Raphael and April mouth the word "WHAT?" They look at each other, daring the other to open the door and see what's really going on… but neither can move.

…

"I've never touched one before… Oh, Donnie, it's so hard! Can I hold it?" Mona says.

"Be my guest." Donnie chuckles.

"Oh, my, it's heavy. Much heavier than it looks. Let's see…"

"Whoa, careful! Don't swing it around like that."

"Sorry."

"It's OK. Just be gentle. Now let me show you where to put your hands."

"Like this?"

"Not too close to the base, yes, right there. Now, go up and down, up and down."

"It this good, Donnie?"

"Yes, that's perfect."

…

Raphael is slack jawed and April's eyes bulge, her hands covering her mouth.

…

"Up and down, up and down… Donnie, my hands are getting tired already! How do you handle this big thing so well?" Mona huffs.

"It's easy for me. I do this everyday." Donnie says.

Wow, you must love it."

"I do, and with a little practice you could be good at it too."

"I would need a LOT of practice. Maybe I'd be better with something smaller. What about Leo's?"

"Naw, he's smaller, but it would take you a long time to get the hang of it."

"Oh, what about Mikey's?"

"Maybe, but be careful it doesn't fly in your face."

She laughs. "OK, what about Raph's?"

"His is the smallest. You'd probably handle it well, but I advise you to use protection with that thing."

…

Raphael's face turns red as he starts a banter of curses, that April quickly muffles, placing her hands over his mouth and pushing him back with all her might, that he not storm into the dojo.

…

"Ha, ha, you're just saying that because you think yours is the best." Mona says.

"I know it is. Now grab it and try again." Donnie instructs her.

"Ok."

"Good, good."

"Ugh, sorry, Donnie. This is not very fulfilling for me."

"Hey, what are you doing?" He laughs.

"Look at me! I'm riding it, Donnie!" Mona squeals.

"Don't fall off!"

…

April growls. "That's it!" She pushes the door open, prepared to see the worst, Raphael right behind her, his nostrils flaring.

"April, Raph!" Donnie looks at them with surprise.

April and Raphael cool their fury quickly as they see Mona riding Donatello's bo staff like a broom, galloping childishly around the dojo.

Mona stops and looks over at the two. "Oh, hey, April…" She looks at Raphael but says nothing to him.

Raphael looks at her and then glares at his brother. "So, what's goin' on in here, Don?"

"I was just introducing Mona to my weapon. She said she wanted to learn, but wasn't quite sure what to choose."

"Yeah." Mona says as she hands Donatello back his staff. "The bo is too heavy, the katana too difficult, the nunchaku too awkward… but the sais might be good for me. I may need to put corks on the tips so I don't hurt myself." Mona asks Raphael coolly. "What do you think about teaching me?"

Raphael grunts and looks away from her. "I don't think about it a all."

"Oh, well, maybe some other time." Mona wipes her brow and walks out the door. "I need some water."

As Donatello spins his staff and secures it to his back, Raphael and April expel a loud, relieving sigh. They look at each other a moment and realize they both are happy for the same exact reason. This makes them blush and look away, very sure that they had shared too much of their secret feelings, silently promising to never tease the other with what they thought had just happened.

"April, if you have some time, you want to grab your Trig book and go over your study guide?" Donnie asks her.

"Sure, let me get my things." April says. She nudges Raphael on her way out. "Go talk to her now."

"Aight." Raphael groans. He looks back and meets Donnie in the eye. "I'm watchin' you."

"What I do?" Donnie is super confused.

…

Raphael sees Mona dragging one of her bags into the kitchen. He stops at the archway and watches her open the bag and pull out random food items. She places two boxes of cereal on top of the fridge, a large jar of chunky peanut butter on the rack, and lifts out two six packs of soda. She tries to open the fridge but is having trouble. Raphael walks over and grabs one of the soda packs.

She looks over at him, not sure of what to do or say.

He looks down at the soda. "Dr. Pop."

"Yeah." She opens the fridge and puts the cans inside. "It's my favorite. The maid kept it stocked in the pantry for me all of the time. I put them on the list… for you." Mona takes the other pack of soda from his hands and sits it in the fridge. She takes out a bottle of water for herself and a can for him. "It's not much, but I thought it could be a small peace offering between us." She hands him the can and smiles.

"Uh… thanks." He says. _WAIT! How did this get turned around? She's supposed to be thanking me!_ Raphael clears his throat and aloofly hooks his thumb into his belt. "Yeah, well, I guess you're happy about us getting' your other things. You know, ME and my brothers, haulin' them from your house… and bringin' them all the way back here."

"Yes." Mona says as she empties a box of breakfast bars in the basket on the table. "Tell Leo I said thanks again, if you see him before I do."

"Leo?" Raph breathes through his teeth.

"Yeah…" She looks at him, a bit confused. "He offered to bring my things here. It's not like I ordered you guys to go play fetch like you're my men servants or something."

_Ah nuts_, he thinks to himself. "Nah, course not…" Raphael backs away, rubbing the side of his neck.

She squints her eyes at him and crosses her arms. "That's exactly what you thought, isn't it?"

"What? No!" Raphael says it but isn't very convincing.

"I bet you came in here, thinking all high and mighty, and wanted me to thank you… all they while you probably didn't even want to help me… you think that lowly of me." Mona walks away from him, her tail flicking in annoyance.

"Wait, wait!" He calls to her and she stops without turning around. "Mona… I'm sorry… OK?"

"What did you say? I couldn't quite hear you over your snarling."

"Well, maybe if you turn around and look at the person who's talkin' to you…" Raph says with dwindling patience.

Mona spins on her heel and looks at him, angry that her stubborn tears start to well up in her eyes.

_Oh great, I've made her cry, the big baby._ "Mona…" He stops short when a tear rolls down her cheek and he looses all hope of laying his rage on her… for now. "I'm sorry. I guess I was wrong… about you."

She looks at him struggling. She shrugs and smiles, thinking that this must have been very hard for him, and takes it as a small victory. "I accept your apology."

He sighs. "Good."

She pokes her lip at him.

"I mean… you wanna come watch some TV or somethin'?" Raphael asks.

"Sure."

The two green teens stroll into the sunken living area. Mona sits on the couch first so that Raphael can sit a comfortable, touchless distance away from her. He picks up the controller and turns the TV on.

…

Meanwhile, in the lab, Donatello is meticulously adjusting and readjusting his lamp to the perfect brightness, not too romantically dim and not too bright and casual. He sweeps his hand over his desk once more, assuring that all the paper scraps and eraser debris are removed from the work area. He leans to his right and looks at the stool he'd set up for April. He moves it closer to him, imagining her sitting there and brushing elbows with him. He shakes his head and pushes the stool away.

_I'm being silly again. This is a study session, not a date. I'm more like her buddy than her boyfriend._ He looks at the stool again, and moves it tad closer to him.

Then, he moves it away again. He starts pushing it back and forth, making it legs scrape across the stone floor.

At the door, April pauses, holding her book and notebook in her hands, watching Donatello make DJ rhythms with a stool. She walks up behind him, trying to hide her smile. "Nice beat, Donnie."

He jumps and turns around. "April! I was just s-setting up."

"I see." She sits down on the stool and sets her things on the table. "So, you're smart AND musically talented." She teases.

"Come on." Donnie opens her Trig book and flips through it quickly, trying to distract her from his blush. "So, is there anything in particular that you'd like to go over?"

"Um…" April opens her notebook. "There are few on page 293 I'm not understanding. Math is like a foreign language to me sometimes."

"Don't worry, with a little practice, I'm sure you'll get it… now, which problems were giving you trouble?"

"Hmm." April leans in closer and points. "This one, this one and… these two. I guess I'm using the wrong method. What do you think?"

Surprisingly, it isn't how close she is or the lavender smell of her hair. No, it is the pretty, purple polish her petite finger is pattered with that makes his temperature rise and his throat tighten. When? Why? How? These are the minuscule questions making his head dizzy. When did April get her nails done? Why, oh, why did she pick THAT color? And HOW is Donatello supposed to concentrate with such a subtle, playful, enticing gesture winking at him only a hand's reach away?

"Donnie?" April asks.

"Yes! I uh, I know how to do math! P-please hand me that polish, err, PENCIL." Donnie says.

"OK?" April reaches over and grabs a pencil from is jar of random utensils. She hands it to him. "Are you alright?"

"Sure, I'm finger. I mean FINE!"

April tilts her head and suddenly realizes why he's acting so goofy when she sees him twitch as she taps her hands on the table. She smiles. "I see you've noticed my new manicure."

"Oh, what? Yeah, yeah, they're really nice." He says quickly.

"Listen, Donnie. Mona wanted to show her appreciation by painting my nails. She literally dragged me out of bed and picked the colors for me. It made her feel better to do it, so I let her, even if it's not me." She shrugs.

Donatello nods and looks back at the Trig book. He should have known as much. He's been a victim of how pushy Mona can be. "Right, well, let's get to work then."

"OK." April says. She listens to him explain the first math problem. She ticks her own pencil back and forth, listening to his voice, as if someone just took the wind out of his sails. She had to tell him the truth. She didn't want him thinking she painted her nails green and purple for any particular reason. And now, he seems rather mopey, all because April didn't pick the color. But so what?

April puts down her pencil and stares at Donatello until he notices her. He stops talking and returns her gaze.

She doesn't know what to say. Well, she does, but is afraid to say it.

"It looks good on you." He says without hesitation. "That color looks very good on you."

She looks away and stares at her notebook. "It's your color." As soon as she says it, she wishes she hadn't. What in the world is she trying to gain from this conversation? She should have scraped the polish off along the walls before she walked in here. That way, none of this rambling would be happening. And now, they both have to pay for her being a fool and opening her heart up just a little bit. She's going to hurt him by letting him down softly, making a joke of things and swiftly sweep this uncomfortable incident under the rug. She's going to hurt herself, by once again suppressing natural feelings because of an unnatural environment.

But she says it. Plainly. _I am wearing your color._ It feels good, even daring, that she hints about liking that she is wearing it, as if a part of her belongs to him, even if it is two painted fingernails. A part of her is ruled by him, is his possession. This thought warms and terrifies her. If her thoughts have become this lofty, what on earth must Donatello be thinking?

She is going to hurt him. She's never going to forgive herself. She turns to face him and opens her mouth, but he speaks first.

"That darn Mona, causing trouble even when she's not around." He says kindly. "Now, let's get back to work."

Donatello continues to write out the steps to the math problem.

April feels even worse. _How could he? How could he take on the brunt of the pain and disregard the whole thing, just so I didn't have to soften the blow for him?_ She shakes her head and beats a fist on the table. He looks over at her with a start.

"I didn't choose." April says.

"What?" He asks.

She looks at him. "I didn't choose… I wanted something else at first. But, someone else made the choice for me… it doesn't mean I'm not happy about it…" She pats her painted hand over his a few times, but doesn't keep it there. "And now that I have it, I rather like it."

Donatello could have leapt for joy over her 'double-meaning' words, but he knows better that he should keep his cool. It took a lot for her to say that much, to assure him that nothing needs to change yet, especially because of nail polish. At that moment, he promises, that no matter how long it takes, he will be patient and go by her pace. He believes that one day they'll both be able to tell each other how they truly feel.

For now, they'll stick to math problems. "Good, like I said before, it looks nice on you. Wear it if you want. And if you don't, that's OK too. It's just paint… I'm glad you and Mona are getting along. It's good to see that you're both friends now."

April smirks and astutely copies the directions in her notebook. "Thank you. I think I'll keep it for a while." They look at each other and smile. April rolls her eyes and looks back at her notebook. "I wish you guys would stop calling her my friend."

He chuckles softly and goes back into tutor mode.

April secretly takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. This is the second time today she had to breathe a sigh of relief because of Donatello. Perhaps Mona was right. Perhaps it is better to not to wait. Waiting is driving her crazy.

…

Back in the living area, things are still awkward.

Raphael and Mona sit silently at opposite ends of the couch. Mona twists and untwists the cap on her empty water bottle as she watches Raphael flip though channels.

_I want to say something! What do I say? I don't want to sound stupid!_ "So, what do you like to watch? The news? The sports channel?" Mona finally asks him.

"Eh, you know, never anything good on the news." He says blandly. Realizing that she may have been trying to start a conversation, he feels he should elaborate. "I like to watch the talk shows where no one talks, but just fights, or really bad horror movies that come on late at night after we come back from patrol." Raph says as he flips slowly through their limited collection of channels. _If she sees something she likes, she better pipe up and say so._

"I never watched much TV. I've been more of a MeTube online watcher."

"I heard of that. I don't go online that much. Only Donnie has a computer."

"Can't you go online on your cell phone?"

"No, but Donnie says he's workin' on that."

"Oh."

"Uh, what do you watch on MeTube or whatever?"

"There are a lot of cat videos." _This is bad, _Mona thinks_. We don't watch the same things. What can we possibly talk about? _ Mona coyly rakes her eyes over at Raphael. He's slouched in his spot, looking ever so comfortable. His eyes flicker with the images on the screen and his sais shiny menacingly from his belt. He looks so cool and so dangerous, like a sleeping tiger. "So, you and your brothers fight crime?"

"Yeah, when we ain't pickin' up you dry-cleanin'." He grins at her.

"Ha, ha." She says. "I'm really interested. You guys go out almost every night."

"We have to. There's a lot of scumbags we gotta clean off the streets."

"I bet it's fun."

Raphael turns to look at her. "Fun? I think it's a hoot! But I thought someone like you would think it's stupid and dangerous."

Mona looks back at him and is struck by how intense his green eyes are, like he can see right through here. But no, he's as dense as any boy his age. "Someone like me?"

"Yeah." He shrugs. "Never thought you'd wanna get your hands dirty."

"Just because I've never picked up a sword and beat up bank robbers doesn't mean I don't think it's cool." She looks away from his gaze and back at the TV. "I'm glad that there's someone who's willing and MORE than able to fight back."

"More than able?" Raph asks. Her inflection on the word makes him curious.

"Raph, have you seen yourself lately?" She looks back at him, unable to hide the awestruck look on her face. "You're built like a god!"

Raphael's finger ceases it's mindless clicking through channels. His hand grows ever tense around the remote, making the cheap plastic crack under the pressure. He already knows he looks awesome, but to have another person acknowledge it, a girl even… a cute girl, makes him feel overwhelmingly unprepared to respond to such a compliment. At least, not in the way he would have liked to. Instead, he glosses over her words with a quick jumble of words and a slight subject change.

"IdoALOTofPUSHUPS. SOOO… is that why you were in the dojo with Donnie?"

"Yes, I feel that, as long as I'm here, I should make the best of it and seize every opportunity." She answers him normally, as if he didn't just ignore her blatantly, flattering remark. Mona looks back at the TV, amused that his finger is now flipping through the channels like lightening. She wonders, at that moment, why she couldn't contain herself and had let her secret thoughts fly out of her mouth. In her short time here, she has mentally and physically compartmentalized the Turtles. She thinks they are all great in their own ways, but physically, Leo is handsome, Mikey is cute as a button, Donnie is adorkable, and Raphael is… making her feel things she has never explored within herself before. She smiles to herself, knowing it best to drop it. She doesn't want him to feel uncomfortable. "I've got to learn my body, and I think training would help. I want to learn how to protect myself. If I ever run into trouble, I want to be able to keep myself safe."

"But…" It doesn't sit well with Raphael to think that Mona would ever be put in that type of danger. "It can get rough out there. It would best if trouble never finds ya."

"Well, if it does, can I count on you to protect me?" She looks over at him with her big, brown eyes.

"I…"  
>"Of course not! Next year, I'm going to be 18, a real adult. I have to stop depending on people at some point in my life, right?" She looks at him sadly.<p>

Raphael quickly turns back to the TV and sets the remote down. A part of him wants to tell her that she doesn't have to be alone anymore, that he and his brothers will be here for her, but saying that would leave him open for rejection and he can't have that. Another part of him wants her get stronger, become more confident and be cured of her mutation, so she can get the heck out his home. He stays silent.

"I do miss them…" Mona finally says. "Thinking back, they never really listened to me. Just as long as I did well in school and stayed pretty, they left me alone and gave me anything I wanted… except their time." Mona watches her tail tick back and forth by her feet, happy that she's gaining more control over the extra appendage, becoming less saddened by the fact that she actually has one. "I guess I've survived on my own for a while now and didn't realize it."

_I should say it now! Mona, you don't have to be alone anymore! Say it, you scardy-cat!_ Raphael purses his lips and stares at the TV.

"Do you think I'm stupid for missing people who don't even want me?" Mona asks him.

"Nah, it ain't stupid." He glances at her quickly, then back at the TV. "They're the ones dumb enough to kick you out of their lives."

"Lucky for you, huh?" She says.

"Yeah… I'm mean no!"

Mona giggles and looks at the TV. "How about we pop in a movie?"

"Sure." He says.

_This is good,_ Mona thinks as she scrolls through the multiple boxes of videotapes. _If I can warm up to Raphael, that means I am becoming friends with everyone! This place might not be so bad after all._

_This is terrible!_ Raphael thinks as he watches Mona go through the boxes of videotapes._ If she starts hangin' around me, I'm think Ima go crazy. My stomach hurts and I'm afraid to know why._

…

A/N: OH BOY! A lot of stuff has gone down. Raph and Mona are finally talking. Donnie and April are talking too, but the mind drama is FOR REAL. Sometimes, it's just hard to say what's really on your heart. More foolery to come! Adventure is coming too! Stay tuned!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hello! I want to thank everyone who has reviewed and followed and favorited! This next chapter was getting longer and longer and I had to cut it off somewhere! I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 8- Touch Much?

…

Mona had been serious yesterday when she talked to Raphael about wanting to learn how to fight. And although he didn't offer, she still needed someone to instruct her. She was determined to ask him again, but he had fallen asleep through the movie. She had left him there on the couch, thinking about how adorable he looks when he's not yelling or scowling at her.

She couldn't find Leonardo, and Donatello said he had an errand to run, so Mona had sought out Michelangelo. She found him in the kitchen with his head in the freezer, making googly noises.

"Hey, Mikey. Are you busy?"

Michelangelo leans back and looks over the freezer door. "Hi, Mona! Just saying hello to my icecream kitty."

"Um about that, why is there a cat made of icecream in your icebox?"

"Well…" He closes the fridge and walks over to her. "It's a funny story. I'll have to tell you sometime. What is it that you wanted?"

"I wanted to know if you'd teach me some of your mad ninja skills." She smiles at him.

"Really? Mona, you've come to the right turtle! This way, please." And he leads her to the dojo. "What's made you finally decided to be cool like me?"

Mona smirks. "If April can learn how to protect herself, surely I can't be that helpless."

"Hmm." Mikey and Mona stand on the dojo mats, facing each other. "We'll have to start with the basics. Then, we'll see if you have any special skills we can strengthen. Sound good?"

"Real good!" Mona says eagerly.

Usually, Mike would have been a goofball, acting out and playing jokes, but this is the first time someone has asked him to be the sensei, so he's taking his first pupil very seriously. After thirty minutes of warm-ups and low-level katas, Mona is pumped and ready to learn more. Mikey has Mona kneel before him on the mats and he paces back and forth with his hands behind his back.

"OK, so I do these exercises everyday to get limber and ready for the actually training?" Mona asks excitedly.

"Yeah, everyday, except Sundays. That's our day off." Mikey says.

"Wow, you guys are intense. What's next, Mikey?"

"Ah, ah, ah! What did I tell you to call me while we're in the dojo?" Mikey sobers up.

"Oh, sorry. I meant, what are you going to teach me next, sensei?"

Mikey smiles widely. "Next, I think we should play a game."

"A game?"

"Yes, my grasshopper." He plays the part well, thumbing his chin as if he has a long and wise beard. "Sometimes, the best way to work hard is to play hard."

"Play hard, sensei?"

"Yes! A game of tag! You may not know this, but I am the reigning champion in Turtle Tag."

"Are you making this up?" Mona crosses her arms.

He turns to her and stares her down. "You doubt the words of your sensei?"

"No! No! Forgive me! I am your lowly grasshopper!" Mona bows her nose to the ground.

"Well… alright!" Mikey crows. "Now, the rules are, don't get caught. If you get caught, you have to catch the other person before the time runs out! Whoever gets the most tags, wins! My brothers and I play this all the time, mostly up in the city at night, but the dojo is fun too."

"It sounds like tons of fun." Mona says as he stands and stretches long and wide.

This is the first time Mikey looks at Mona as she truly is, a physically beautiful being. Her long, curvy legs, lustrous hair, and ample womanly parts; once she got too hot and took off her pink hoodie, she looks as if she's strutting around in a skin-tight body suit. She looks awesome, yet it only makes him think of one person.

"There's only one person who was able to beat me at Turtle Tag every single time." Mikey says softly.

"Who is that?" Mona asks.

"My girlfriend."

Mona whips her head to look at him. "You have a girlfriend?"

"Yeah. Look, I got some pics on my cell." Mikey awakens his phone and hands it to Mona.

Mona flips through the few digital images. She gasps when she sees it. It's Mikey, with his bright, blue eyes and big smile, in a cozy close-up with a golden-skinned, orange-haired, silver eyed… "Alien?"

"Her name is Kala. She comes from planet Neutron in Dimension X. She's the leader of a group of space-fighters trying to free her people. That's why you haven't met her yet. She's pretty busy nowadays." Mikey grins.

Mona swipes through the pictures, in awe of the images of Kala. "Are all Neutrinos this beautiful? She's like, evolved-beautiful!"

"I know! I am so lucky."

"Oh my gosh…" Mona sighs in wonderment. "A real alien… when will she be back to visit you?"

"I don't really know. It's super difficult and oober dangerous to travel back and forth through inter-dimensional portals. I leave that boring stuff up to Donnie. But, someday soon, when we're both done saving our worlds, I'm sure you'll get to meet her."

Mona's smile fades as she looks at Mikey's lovey-dovey eyes take one more glance at the pics in his phone before putting it back in his belt._ It must be hard to be so far away from someone you like_. She wanted to know more about Kala, but thought it might be troubling for Mikey. If Mikey and Kala can date, and Donnie and April are liking each other, albeit privately, perhaps it isn't so strange for a lizard girl to think a mutant turtle is super hot.

"You ready? TAG!" Mikey taps Mona on the back of her shoulder and bounds away to the other side of the dojo. "I've set the timer! You got five minute to out tag the TAG MASTER!"

"Alright! Here I come!" Mona runs after him and the two squeal and giggle all around the dojo.

Half way through the 2nd game, with Mona only able to tag Mikey one good time, Raphael shows up at the dojo doors.

Mikey speeds by, almost clipping his red-marked brother. "Gangway, Raph!" he shouts.

"Hi, Raphie!" Mona flashes by only a second behind Mikey. She looks over at Raphael and winks. The wind of her hair flying behind her washes over his face.

He blushes, because of her smile, her scent and that nickname he hates so much. "What are you guys doin'?"

Mikey comes back around and does a flip. "Playing T-Tag brah! Come and join us!"

"Not that goofy game." Raph groans.

Mona cartwheels past Raphael. "Come on, Raphie! Tag!" She taps him on the arm with her tail.

Raphael growls.

Mikey runs by again. "Tag!" He hits Raph on the front of his shell.

"Tag!" Mona tags him on his hand. He makes a fist.

"Tag!"

"Tag!"

Pretty soon, Mona and Mikey stop chasing each other and end up poking Raphael in the arm, on the forehead, on the nose. He stands there, about to boil over, and Mikey sees this. He does a back flip after tagging Raph's cheek.

"Mona! Run away! He's about to blow!" Mikey warns.

She grins grabs his cheeks and pulls. "TAG!"

"That's it! I'm gonna wreck you guys up!" Raphael barrels towards them!

Mikey and Mona scream in glee, knowing whoever gets tagged by Raphael first is the true loser. When Raphael is about to snatch up Mikey by the lip of his shell, Mona jolts up behind him and pulls on his red bandana tails.

"Tag!" Mona yells.

"Come back her, ya slippery salamander!" Raphael turns back around and dashes towards her. Right before he's able to grab her troublesome tail, Mikey jumps at him and pounces on the back of his shell with both feet and jumps away, making Raphael almost topple over.

"Tag!" Mikey shouts.

"I'm gonna wring you dry, Mikey!" Raphael roars. He has GOT to catch one of them soon or he'll burst into flames. Raphael decides to go after Mona, and he finally corners her. He takes his time, he has to plan his attack just right. "Now, how should I tag you, Miss Kingsley? Should I karate-chop you over your big head or drop kick you to the floor?"

She presses herself against the wall and puts up her hands. "Now, Raphie, it's just tag. You can't clobber me!"

"Oh no?" He cracks his knuckles. "Let's just see how much you can take, tough girl." At that moment, Raphael sees Mona look up behind him. He smiles, spins quickly, and catches Michelangelo's foot in midair that was aimed for his head. "Gotcha, Mikey!"

"Have Mercy!" Mikey cries.

Raphael ignores his baby brother's plea and starts to swing him around by his foot. When he get's the desired momentum, Raphael lets him go. Mikey flies across the dojo, lands and rolls at the other end. Mikey moans in defeat.

"Tag." Raphael says as he turns back to Mona. He walks towards her slowly, his face, emotionless.

She squeezes into a corner, smiling at him sheepishly. "Come, on Raphie… It's just a game." She looks at the pale gray walls and tries to concentrate, trying her darndest to change color and distract him long enough to make her quick escape. His bright, green eyes are searing, yet they have frozen her in place.

Raphael reaches up with his right hand and grabs the base of her ponytail, pulling her head back slightly, making her breathing hitch. He takes a moment to look at her, feasting on the uncertainty and unknowing fear in her eyes. It's riveting. It's the same look his enemies give him, right before he puts out their lights.

But… he's not going to knock her out. He just wants to show her how much he doesn't like silly games, especially ones that are fun at his expense. He was ready to say something curt and to the point but then all he can hear is her trying her best to calm her breathing at the closeness of him.

Raphael blinks his eyes, allowing her proximity to dampen his anger. He looses his bravado quickly.

Michelangelo sits up and rubs at a sore spot on his face. He looks across the room and sees Raphael cornering Mona and neither saying or seemingly doing anything. He cautiously calls over to them. "Hey, R-Raph? You didn't end her life, did you… Raph?"

Raphael swallows hard. "Of course not!" He snaps back at his brainless brother. Raphael turns his attention back to Mona, who is still wary. He slowly removes his hand from her hair, steps away and turns around. He stops, grins, turns back around, flicks a thumb under her chin, and walks away. "Tag." He says.

Mikey smiles a huge smile. "Setting the timer for five more minutes!"

Mona runs her hand over her chin, almost swooning as she watches him walk away. She suddenly realizes that the game is on again. She smiles and runs after him. He doesn't even dodge when he feels her slap his shell. "Tag!"

Raphael turns and heads towards Mona. They run past Mikey. "You better get off yer rump if you plan on winnin'! Tag!" Raph hollers at him and slaps him on top of the head.

"I know I'm gonna win!" Mikey jumps up and enters the fray.

The three teens run all over the dojo, tagging, dodging, crashing, missing, laughing, rolling, and playing hard. Mikey and Mona are tied when they both tag Raphael at the same time. With ten seconds left, Mikey is hot on her trail. With nowhere to go, Mona sprints towards the other end of the dojo.

To everyone's surprise, including her own, Mona runs up the wall, ricochets off the ceiling, and flips over Michelangelo, slamming her feet into his shell, pinning him to the floor. The buzzer sounds. "TAG! Ha- ha! I am victorious! Today I am the sensei! I am the TAG MASTER!" She shouts.

"No fair, Mona!" Mikey grumbles. "You gotta stay on the floor. No one can tag you on the ceiling!"

"What can I say? I'm the bomb."

_You sure are!_ Raphael thinks to himself as he walks over to them. "Good game, Mona."

"I know, right? And you, you may be built like a Mack Truck, but you're super fast, Raphie." She winks at him again.

"Uh." Raphael tries to keep his cool. "Yeah, um, 'Raph' is just fine."

"Raphie? Awe, such a cute name… You can get off of me now, Cheater Master!" Mikey whines.

Mona tries to step off of him, but her feet won't move. She wiggles and bends but they won't buge. "Uh, Mikey? Mikey, I think I'm stuck!"

"What?" Mikey says.

"I… I can't take my feet off of your shell!"

Raphael watches her try to twist and pull her legs, but just ends up falling forward and does a face-plant onto the Oriental rug, her tail flailing in the air. Mikey maneuvers himself to stand up. She starts to protest but is quickly silenced as Mikey attempts to jump and walk away from her. He just ends up pulling her around the dojo, her face mopping the floor. It's a sad mess and Raphael is laughing up a storm.

Mikey turns to his brother with pleading eyes. "Dude, this isn't funny! We could be stuck like this forever!"

"Forever? Not forever!" Mona claws at the rug, desperately trying to break free.

"Oh, No!" Mike runs worrisome palms over his face. "We're a Lurte! A Tizard! Just call us Mona-Angelo!"

Raphael rolls his eyes and walks over to them. He grabs Mona by the arms and lifts her up. She hooks her hands around his neck and he holds tight to her waist. With her head uncomfortably pushed against his plastron, she angles herself so her chin rests right where his armor meets skin. She looks up him with big, brown, pouty eyes. He sees the helplessness… the absolutely, adorable vulnerability in her eyes. It's like a boulder blowing a hole through his brick wall. He deftly refocuses is thoughts on the matter at hand. "OK, Mikey we both pull on three."

And on three, the two, muscular turtles, with their mutant strength, tug in opposite directions, pulling the poor girl to her limit.

"Ah! Stop! Stop! You're gonna rip me apart!" Mona cries.

Raphael grunts. "Fine! Lemme go get some butter… or motor oil or sumthin'. See if that works." He tries to set her gently down on the rug. "Leggo, Mona."

She purses her lips. "Uh, Oh."

Raphael snorts. "Are you serious?"

"My hands are stuck to your shell." Mona's voice cracks.

"Raphamongelo!" Mikey screams.

"What is going on in here?" Leonardo walks into the dojo.

"Help!" The three say.

"Her microscopic feet suckers are stuck to my shell!" Mikey whines.

"She can't take her grubby hands off me." Raphael sighs is mock annoyance.

"Oh, don't flatter yourself!" Mona snarks.

Leonardo comes closer to them, keeping his grin hidden as best he can. He walks around them and shakes his head. He reaches for one of Mona's fingers, which are glued to Raphael's shell. He pulls, but the suction is tight. He looks at her face pushed up against his brother's neck. She is totally flushed.

Leo is trying really hard not to laugh. "I think you need to calm yourself, Mona."

"It's hard to stay calm, when I'm super-glued to Mikey and his 'awesome' brother!"

"Just…" Leo tries to keep it together. "You can't control your body if you have no control of your mind. Think of something calming. Think of something you like to do that relaxes you, something that makes you happy."

"Yeah, and think quick." Raphael adds. He's doing the best he can, but she's just too darn close!

"I like to dance." Mona says. "I was the head of the dance squad in high school. Dancing makes me feel good, makes me feel free."

That's right, late in the evening, after dinner, Raphael would walk by and catch Mona sometimes in the dojo, dancing to the old radio Donatello had given her. Raph could never stand to watch her too long. He would get overheated and had to walk away.

"That's great, Mona." Leo encourages her. "Anything else?"

She closes her eyes. "I like…"

"Here you all are… What the helium is going on?" Donnie comes into the dojo with a cardboard box full of gadgets and pieces from the junkyard.

"Hey, Donnie's back!" Mona cheers. She immediately releases herself from Mikey and Raphael and bounces over to their brainy brother. She grabs the heavy box from his hands. "Donnie, I'm so glad you're here! I'll help you take this to your lab, and you can finish showing me what you were working on!"

"Sure!" Donatello brightens up, happy that someone is interested in his projects. He and Mona leave the dojo.

Michelangelo is relieved. Leonardo is confused. And Raphael is feeling a whole bunch of stuff.

"That was easy." Leo says.

That's just fascinatin'. He's got one girl he's shell over heels for, and another girl who's tail over heels for him… Lucky dog." Raph says.

Mikey jabs his hothead brother in the ribs. "No way, Raph. Mona doesn't like him like that."

"I think Donnie seems to calm her down by keeping her mind busy. She's interested in science as well." Leo says.

"Hmm, maybe he just bores her." Raphael shrugs.

"Or… maybe someone's jEaLoUs?" Mikey sings.

"Shut yer trap, Mikey. Ain't no one jealous of nothin'." Raphael marches to the exit of the Liar.

"Where are you going?" Leo asks.

"Out with Casey. I'll be back in time for patrol." Raphael waves at them without looking back and leaves the dojo.

"What were you guys doing in here?" Leo asks Mikey.

"Training." Mikey says.

"That didn't look like training to me."

"We'll, I was training Mona because she wanted to learn how to protect herself, so we came in here, warmed up, and started a game of Turtle-Tag."

"And how is Turtle-Tag supposed to help Mona train?"

"Well, she was having fun… and she won!" Mikey says as he heads out of the dojo. "And then Raph joined us and he let her call him Raphie, so he likes her I guess."

"Oh… wait, what?" Leo grabs his baby brother and spins him back around. "What do you mean Raphael likes her?"

Mikey purses his lips and smiles. "You know how hard it is to get Raph to play T-Tag without it turning into a brawl. And the way he was looking at her, and how he tagged her or how he acted when she tagged him, all that laughing, it was making ME nauseous. She kept calling him Raphie the whole time and didn't complain once, until I teased him about it."

"Hmm." Leo looks away in thought. "I bet he doesn't even realize it."

"I bet neither of them do. You think something is going to happen? Should we do something?" Mikey bounces on his heels in excitement.

Leo places his hands on his brother's shoulder to calm him down. "I'm positive that we should say not a single word."

"Why?"

It's complicated. Leonardo has no desire to push or repel Raphael's interests. "This is something Raphael and Mona have to do on their own."

"But…"

"Baby steps, Mikey. Not everyone is going to blossom as quickly as you and Kala. Mona is still getting used to her new form. And she and Raphael have just started speaking again. Let's allow them to be friends first."

Mikey sighs. He knows Raphael is temperamental, but Mona is so easy to get along with. It shouldn't take too long for those two to get closer. "I get it, Leo. Baby steps."

Leo steps away from his brother. "Now, unless you want to join me for a two –hour meditation session, I suggest you get out of the dojo and find something else to do."

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Mikey makes his escape.

Leonardo walks to the trunk of the lark willow tree and sits down. He closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths. He scense excitement and joy in the air. His brothers and Mona must have had a lot of fun. Leo smiles slighty, enjoying the good vibes surrounding him and he easily slips into meditation mode.

These vibes soon calm, however, when Splinter enters the dojo and sits by his eldest son.

The two do not speak for a long time, not until Splinter senses they two are on the same wavelength. "How is she?"

Leonardo's breathing changes only a little when he hears his sensei's question. He wasn't surprised that Splinter found out about his secret meetings with Karai. He is surprised that Splinter knows when those meetings happen. Leo knows his sensei is not trying to be invasive; he is so worried about the dark world is daughter is living in. "She's good."

Splinter's ears twitch, knowing that Leo's response means that her allegiance has not changed, and she still doesn't believe the truth. "Does she… look healthy?"

Leo's lips stretch into a small smile. "As strong as ever." Leo finds it quire amusing that Splinter wonders if his daughter is eating well and isn't sick.

Splinter wants so much to be reunited with her. And the only time he has any contact with her is indirectly; when his sons go into combat with her and the Foot. It is very disheartening; knowing that his children are at war with each other. Once he discovered that Leonardo was meeting with Karai on neutral ground, it gave him hope. "Did you try to convince her again?"

Leo stops smiling and lowers his head, opening his eyes. He hopes that his father understands that he isn't just meeting with her for that. He hopes he understands that the last thing he wants to do is push her away by trying to make her believe something she is not ready to believe. Even though it is dangerously foolish, Leonardo likes talking to Karai, however brief and somewhat at a distance. They would meet in dark, lofty, secluded places, almost ten feet away from each other. They don't share enemy secrets or have duels, but just talk. What do they talk about? Space Heroes, his favorite TV show. Karai watched the original version while growing up in Japan. Leo held onto that little light of similarity between them and had sparked many conversations, branching out to her life in Japan, what she does in her spare time here, and weapons of choice. She once threw him a box of her favorite snack, Poco. Talking and eating with her like that made him feel warm inside. Leo found that they had so much in common. They could have been great friends if so much responsibility didn't lay upon their young lives. And this covert camaraderie with Karai is so very important to him, that Splinter may not understand why. "No. I feel, as long as I am being honest about myself, she'll come to know the truth in her own time."

Splinter nods. He opens his eyes and looks at his son. He sees pure underlying strength in him, but also sees vibrant youth and happiness, and the desire for things not to change so quickly. Splinter laughs inwardly. He can almost hear Leonardo imploring to him, _PLEASE, DON'T MAKE HER MY SISTER YET!_ "I trust your judgment, Leonardo. I pray someday our light pulls her out of that dark world."

"Yes, I hope so too." Leonardo and Splinter sit quietly once more, and follow each other into deep though, and higher consciousness.

…

Not much later, Raphael and Casey Jones dangle their feet over the edge of the iron bones of a not yet finished skyscraper overlooking the city. They sit there, silenced by the steady murmur of the eternal city life way below.

Raphael tosses Casey a frosty can of Dr. Pop. He snaps open his own can. "Compliments of our special guest. Cheers." They tap their cans together and chug.

"So, how is it, now that you gotta girl in the house 24/7? You remember to keep the toilet seat down?" Casey asks.

Raphael rolls his eyes. "It's goin'… not fast enough though." He crushes his can and aims for the green dumpster thirty stories down. Score. "I don't know how much more I can take. Don't you got room at your house for a homeless lizard?"

"Heck, no. My family don't even know my best friends are giant turtles!" Casey says as, he too, crushes his can and aims for the same green dumpster. Score. "She still messin' with your stuff? Or is she still being snooty?"

"Naw, not anymore. She's just getting' on my nerves. It ain't nothin' she done, really. Just her bein' around makes me feel all, I dunno… WOOBLY."

"What the heck is WOOBLY?" Casey looks at him cross-eyed.

Raphael picks at his bottom lip in thought. "How can I explain… I came into the dojo earlier and she and Mikey were playin' this stupid game…"

"What game?"

"It don't matter what game."

"It does if you want me to understand what you're sayin'."

Raphael bites his lip. "Turtle-Tag."

"Oh, that game you never win." Casey grins and slides his hockey mask over his face.

"That ain't true!"

"Did you start playin' with them?"

"Only after those two bozos kept pokin' me! Anyway, me and Mikey and Mona are playin'. It's all good, Mona won with her dumb luck and…"

"So, you played a game that you never win with two bozos that get on your nerves, one of which makes you feel WOOBLY?" In rare moments, Casey isn't as dull as he seems. He sits up and gives his bro his full attention.

"Let me finish the darn story!" Raphael seethes. "At the end of it all, Mona somehow gets her feet stuck to Mikey's shell."

"Ha, what? How?" Casey laughs.

"I dunno! Little lizard sticky feet! Let me finish!"

"OK, OK!"

"So… after I got done laughin' at Mikey sweepin' the floor with Mona's face, I decided to be nice and help out… but then her sticky hands stuck to me too!"

Casey almost looses his balance, imagining the situation in the dojo and upset that he missed it. After a while, Casey looks over at Raph, who is not laughing at all. "Raph?"

Raphael puts his hands up in front of him as if lost in the memory of it all. "She had her arms around me… Yeah, she was in trouble and I was just helpin' her." He looks up into the deep, purple sky, his green eyes catching the slim line of the setting sun. "She was so close, my face became hot against hers, and her hair ticklin' my shoulder…"

At that Casey started to guffaw, slapping Raph on the shell. "Her hair tickling your shoulder? How romantic, Shakespeare!"

"Shaddup!" He shoves him. "All I wanted to do was to get away from her! But… a part of me didn't mind at all, ya know?"

Casey clams up and looks at his suddenly serious friend. "I have no idea, Brah."

"Don't make fun of me, Case. I ain't even tellin' my brothers this! I'm pourin' my heart out here!"

"Hey, I hear ya, but I really don't what to say." Casey looks away from him, also staring at the darkening sky. "If you haven't already noticed, April don't give me the time of day anymore. I guess we both got girl troubles."

Raphael eyes Casey. Raphael has noticed the shift. Ever since they took down the Kraang Colossal ship with Kala, April and Donnie have been more 'buddy-buddy' than usual. He supposes, almost dying brings people together. And he feels bad for Casey, but not that bad. Casey is human. He can find another dumb girl, easy. But his brother Donnie only has one April. And Raphael doesn't have to know many girls to figure out that Mona is a strange one. Even if she is cute as shell, he's not going to admit having troubles because of her. "I ain't got no girl troubles. That's between you and Donnie."

Casey looks at Raphael's rigid posture. His arms are folded so tightly around himself and he keeps exhaling harshly. His heel is tapping against the iron and his eyes stare out in thought. Casey grins. "Sorry to have to tell you, Raph, but it looks and sounds as if you like Mona… LIKE LIKE her."

"Ugh! What for!?" Raph throws his hands up.

"I don't know, man!" Casey tries not to laugh. "She's a reptile, you're a reptile. She got a temper. So do you."

"Can it, hockey jock!"

"See what I mean? Anyway, it's not the end of the world."

"It feels like it, at least in my little world. Ever since she got here, the world I knew is gone. I don't know if it's good or bad. Either way, it's makin' me sick."

"You keep soundin' like song lyrics, I'll throw up for ya." Casey says. He can't believe it. Raphael is crushing on Lisa. No, not Lisa, Mona. He wonders how weird it is, that Raphael has a thing for a girl turned into a mutant. Is it as weird as a mutant liking a human? Casey's not smart like Donatello, but he's street smart. He may not be a trained fighter, but he's survived this long with his own skills. There's just something about Donnie that keeps April close. When Casey and Donnie bicker, which has been happening more and more, April breaks them up, but then sits next to Donnie or goes to the lab with Donnie. It's never Casey she seems to side with.

Casey doesn't want to give up on April. And why should he? In the end, April has to pick Casey… right? Casey looks over at his brooding buddy. He asks him, not to be nosy, but to get some advice for himself. "So, what are ya gonna do about Mona? I mean, does she like you? Even if there's a slim chance… would ya take it?"

_What's the point?_ Raph thinks to himself. "She's still a human on the inside. So, there ain't no chance, is there?" Raph says softly.

Casey doesn't know how to answer. If he says yes, does that mean he feels that Donnie has a good chance with April? If he says no, will he hurt Raph's feelings? Getting no helpful words from Raphael, Casey decides not to say anything else on the matter and continues to sit quietly as the sun's light scorches the horizon of the city and finally disappears. For now, things are peaceful the way they are, but Casey feels, with the way Raphael had opened up to him, how he can't stop fidgeting, that this peace won't last for long.

…

Raphael strides into the lair, not feeling as better as he had hoped from talking to Casey. He checks the time on his T-phone, seeing he has just enough time to take a quick nap before patrol. He heads towards his room when he hears someone snicker.

Raphael looks around but doesn't see anyone. He's sure he heard something. He opens his bedroom door and hears another muffled giggle. "Who's there? Mikey, is that you bein' a dumbbell again?"

When he doesn't get an answer, he reaches into his room and pulls out a small, red ball from his dresser. He hears another sound and Raphael turns quickly and throws the rubber ball at the wall.

"OW!"

Raphael looks half-surprised as Mona's true form materializes against the brown wall of the hallway. "I shoulda known."

"Hi, Raph. I almost got ya." Mona stands up smiles at him while rubbing her nose. "That little ball really stung." She picks up the ball and walks over to him.

"What were ya doin' creepin' around for?"

"I was trying to use my lizard ninja skills to sneak up on you." She places the ball in his hand.

There is a brief moment when their hands make contact and Raphael almost forgets what he's about to say. "I-I heard ya the whole time! You were breathin' too hard… and laughin'. You shouldn't try to sneak up on a ninja. It's dangerous."

"Are you tell me that you're dangerous, Raphael?" She purrs, inching closer to him.

Raphael stiffly backs away. "If the situation calls for it."

"OoO… you're a tough guy, huh? I like that."

Raphael frowns a bit and stares at her. He is so not used to compliments.

"Raph, the next time you guys go out on patrol, I'd like to go." Mona says.

"No way." He starts to walk away, but she grabs his shoulder. He stops. "You better not be stuck to me again."

"No!" She throws her hands up. "Honestly, why can't I come? I feel totally useless just sitting here while you guys comb the city, fighting bad guys AND looking for the mutagen to change me back."

"If you can't fight, you can't help. It's that simple. You can't come."

"But why!" She practically whines and it makes Raph like her even more, which makes him even more miserable. "Raph, you've seen what I can do. I CAN help!"

"You bein' able to walk on walls and change colors ain't gonna help us. My brothers and I have been doin' this a long time. We got this."

"But April gets to go with you sometimes!"

"That's cause she's trained with us longer. She started out just like you; us savin' her butt. You'd just be in the way."

"But I'm going to keep training! I'm going to be good."

Raphael groans and rolls his eyes. It's like dealing with a two year old. "Maybe someday you will be good. Today, you're terrible, so get over it! I can't watch your back and my brothers' AND fight at the same time."

"Oh!" Mona stomps her foot. "I just wanna kick you!"

He laughs at her. "I wanna pick you up and throw you into the divin' pool."

She gasps. "You sound like a big bully!"

"Well, ain't that a lizard callin' a turtle green!"

"Hmph… doofus." Mona folds her arms.

"What you call me?" Raphael raises a brow.

"A big DOOFUS!"

"Oh!" Raphael grins at her devilishly. "So, the girl got words? If I'm a doofus, you're a cry baby."

"Wuss."

"Sissy."

"Meat head." She sticks her tongue out at him.

"You spoon-fed teenie-bopper!"

"You flee-bitten hooligan!"

"Snub-nosed mall rat!"

"Half-baked mud-skipper!"

"Big mouthed she-devil!"

"You sludge trotting, scum slurping, big-headed, two-tailed blowhard! Your head is emptier than your shell!"

Whoa.

Her words make him feel two feet tall, which is bad, considering he's already a few inches shorter than her. But he's not going to take this, not from her! Raphael puffs himself up to his full height, about to give Mona the saltiest sailor's tongue-lashing of a life time when Michelangelo walks by, reading a comic book.

"Would you two just clam up and kiss already? Make the world a better place… at least a quieter one." He disappears down the hall.

Raphael tries his hardest not pay his dopey brother any mind. "You both are so annoying to my life! I'm gonna go take a nap. And YOU can take a hike!" He turns away from Mona, when Donatello comes running towards them from the other end of the hall.

"Raph! I just got a reading for a mutagen canister! I have a sensor on the surface and it's moving around close by. We gotta go get it!"

"Alright!" Raphael shouts happily. He won't get a nap, but he'll do anything just to get away from Mona right now. She's a tough cookie, and it's turning him to mush for her.

He and Donnie run back down the hall and Mona catches his arm. "Raph, please… let me come?"

He looks back at her. "No, Mona, I can't…"

"Raph, I'm going to the lab to get more supplies. I'm warming up the T-Copter in five!" Donnie leaves.

Raphael yanks his hand away from Mona. "I'm comin' with you, Don!" And Raphael follows his brother to the lab, leaving Mona there alone.

…

A/N: I hope you are liking this so far. Man, the dojo has seen a lot of crazy things go down in this story. But the next chapter is up in the city! Mona couldn't possibly cause anymore trouble… right? XD


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9-Fight Fright

…

"How much longer, Donnie?" Leonardo leans his head into the cockpit where his brother is manning the controls.

"We're actually right on top of it. It's not moving too fast." Donnie says.

"It's moving?" Leo asks him.

Donnie points down at the street below. "It's right there."

Leonardo looks and sees, about a hundred feet below, a garbage truck going across the Brooklyn Bridge. In the back, on top of trash bags, he can see a faint purplish glow; the canister of mutagen.

"How are we going to get the canister without being seen?" Mikey asks.

"It's heading for the dump. We'll have to land nearby and go there on foot. It should be an easy operation. The dump will be vacant once the drivers go home." Donnie says as he pulls slightly to the left on the controls, trying to keep steady through the headwind.

Raphael is sitting near the back of the copter, trying to keep his stomach steady. "Hey, watch the speed bumps up there!" He runs a hand over his stomach. He mumbles to himself. "Turtles were NOT meant to fly." As soon as he says it the copter jumps once more before sailing smoothly. Raphael looks behind him quickly, peering into the darkness of the copter.

"How are ya doing' Raph? Keeping down your lunch?" Mikey places a kind hand on his brother's shoulders.

Raph pulls his eyes away from the rear of the cabin and looks at Mikey. "Yeah, good thing I ain't eat dinner."

"We're about to descend." Leo appears beside Mikey. "Donnie is landing on top of the warehouse right next to the dump. We sneak in once the driver is gone, grab the canister of mutagen and go home."

"Sounds easy enough." Raph says.

Donatello pushes on the stick and flies the T-Copter expertly to the rooftop of the two-story warehouse. He shuts the engine down, but keeps the aircraft hidden under its invisible stealth mode. He grabs the portable mutagen-tracking device and joins his brothers back in the cabin. "Alright, guys the truck stopped by the west wall of the dump. We should be there and back in ten minutes."

"Great, let's…" Leo stops mid sentence.

Raphael looks at him and wonders why he is staring out into space. "Uh, Leo? You OK?"

Leonardo's expression goes grim. He looks at his brothers. "Let's be careful. This should be a straight- forward mission. Don't do anything unnecessary. Use your common sense."

Raphael thinks Leo is addressing him and gets offended. "Hey, this ain't my first time at the rodeo! Who do ya think you're talkin' to?"

"I'm talking to whomever needs to hear it… now, let's go."

With his brothers slightly confused by his words, they slide the side door open and exit the copter.

The four, young ninjas fan out and head towards the garbage truck, while the little stowaway breathes a long awaited exhale and visually materializes against the black wall of the cabin. Mona felt chills, as if Leonardo was looking and talking right to her, but he didn't call her out. She wonders why. She crawls to the door and cracks it open. She sees the vast area and multiple mountains of the city's trash rising to the sky. She gets nervous when she doesn't see the Turtles right away. She opens the door a bit wider. She sees movement. It's Leonardo! He's leading his team to the truck. Mona sits there silently watching them as they tuck and roll in and out of the shadows. They are so fast, yet so careful. She smiles to herself, feeling foolish for coming but glad she gets to see her friends in action.

A few minutes later, Mona sees that they made it to the truck. He gives Michelangelo a leg up and he flips onto the top of the truck. A moment later, Mikey jumps backs down with the canister.

Mona pumps her fist, happy that they now have enough mutagen for Donnie to start his process in making retro-mutagen. She sits back and smiles. "I guess I wasn't needed after all… Maybe Donnie can use my help in the lab. Oh well."

Mona places her hands on the door to slide it closed when a cloud of dark figures rush up onto the roof and down into the dump. Mona gasps. There are about twelve of them, moving very quickly, much too quick for a regular person. And the one taking up the rear appears to be a woman. No, a girl!

Through the thin opening of the cabin door, Mona does her best to get a good look at her.

The girl turns to the side. She has piercing eyes, a short, edgy haircut, and form-fitting armor. She looks like a ninja. _Maybe she's a Foot Soldier!_

The girl says to the tall, metallic-looking ninja before her. "Retrieve the mutagen and don't kill them… unless it is absolutely necessary." The metal ninja makes an eerie electrical sound and goes down into the dump with the others. The girl stands at the edge of the rooftop, her back to Mona in the hidden T-copter.

_Oh! NO! What should I do? Those robot ninjas are about to attack the Turtles!_ Mona slowly slides open the door, steps out, and closes it. She tip-toes to the far end of the building, away from the ninja girl. Mona looks out over the dump. The robots are almost upon her friends! She tries to go faster but stumbles on a rock.

The ninja girl turns around quickly. She looks left and right, but sees no one. She turns back around and focuses on the dump.

_That was super close!_ Mona thinks to herself as she slides along the brick wall, blending in perfectly. She makes a run for it. She climbs up on the ledge, just in time to see those evil robots circle the last mountain of trash. Mona hollers as loud as she can. "LOOK OUT! IT'S THE FOOT! THE FOOOOT!"

…

The Turtles look up at the high-pitched scream and see a small figure, jumping up and down on top of the warehouse.

"Is that Mona?" Donatello says in bewilderment.

"Did she say The Foot?" Raphael readies his twin sais.

Michelangelo secures the canister to his belt.

The battalion of Foot Bots flies around the heap of trash and attack them with full force.

Leonardo unsheathes his katanas. "Donnie and I will clear a path! Mikey, Raph, you two get to Mona as fast as you can!"

The Fearless Leader barely finishes his orders before the bots crash into them.

Donatello spins his bo like a maniac and takes the first one down, slamming the end of his staff in the neck of the Bot. Leonardo slices and spins with his whirlwind attack, taking down three more mechanical enemies.

Two Foot Bots, hearing the warning shouted by Mona, break away from the rest and hunt her down. Mikey and Raph follow them as fast as they can.

Mona sees the battle and shrinks back in awe. "Gosh, they really can fight. I'm gonna sneak back to the invisible copter where it's safe." Mona climbs down of the ledge and trots back to the copter. She is stopped in her tracks when she comes face o face with the ninja girl.

…

Raphael and Michelagelo are in hot pursuit of the two Foot Bots. Mikey takes out his kama, swings it like a lasso and shoots. The sharp hook latches on firmly to one of the Foot Bot's back. He and Raph take it down easily.

"Ha, you're no match for this ninja!" Mikey crows.

"Stop foolin' around! There's still one more after Mona!" Raphael sprints forward. Mikey follows close behind, back to the warehouse roof.

…

"Well, aren't you an exotic specimen." The ninja girl gazes at Mona from behind her facemask. She tries to step closer to Mona, but Mona backs away. "So, the Turtles have a new ally, I see… What unfortunate thing happened to you that you look like this now?"

"That's none of your business, chick. Who are you?" Mona's voice only shakes a little.

The ninja girl raises a brow at her. "Let me show you." She pulls out a dagger from the sheath on her thigh.

Mona's blood runs cold.

…

"I got him, Raph. Go save Mona!" Raphael watches Michelangelo kick the Foot Bot away, swinging his chucks wildly. He wanted to stay with him, make sure he'd be alright, only jump in if he had to, but then he hears Mona scream.

"Raph! What are you doing!" Mikey yells while knocking the enemy robot back again. "Go!"

Raphael walks away, and then turns and dashes towards Mona. He feels a slight twinge of guilt in his gut. But Mikey is strong. He'll be fine. Mona on the other hand...

...

Karai circles Mona and Mona has no choice but to mimic her moves to keep her at a distance. Mona keeps her eyes glued to the girl in black, shifting from her evil-looking eyes to the shiny, sharp weapon in her hand.

Karai smiles behind her mask, knowing full well she is dealing with an amateur, less than one. There is a good chance those stupid Foot Bots will fail, and the Turtles will be back here soon. She might as well have a little fun with her bargaining chip.

Karai hold up her short sword and take a quick step towards the lizard girl.

Mona shrieks and jumps back against the wall.

Karai laughs at her. "You are rather jittery, aren't you? Not much of a watchdog for your friends." She walks closer to her. A few steps more and Karai feels a little bad, she's practically shaking.

Mona tries to keep her breathing under control and still her quaking knees as the female ninja stalks towards her with a venomous demeanor. Why can't she scream now? Her voice, it seems, has escaped without her. But she has to do something! It would be an utter failure for her to get beaten or kidnapped, now that she's here without permission. She has to fight back, at least long enough until help arrives. She has to wipe Raphael's smug face from her mind!

Mona puts her hands up as the Nina inches closer.

Karai is practically on top of Mona when she says, "You're smart not to try anything funny. Let's see if we can cut a bargain with our other reptilian friends once they soon arrive."

At the last moment, Mona smirks. "Think again, wacko!" Mona slips her trail around the ninja's ankle, and yanks her off her feet. Mona makes a run for the T-Copter, and makes it to the side door, but something sharp and quick whizzes by her and she covers her head. She turns around and sees the girl ninja already on her feet, holding an array of ninja stars between her fingers. Mona tries to take another step back, but a precisely shot star sticks into the ground by her feet.

"Don't move, mutant!" Karai makes her way over to Mona and, holding her dagger towards her, locks Mona's arms behind her back. "That was a cute move, even if it was futile. Now, are you going to behave until your heroes get here, or am I going to have to turn your beautiful skin into a purse?"

Mona hears and feels the dagger scrape across the skin on her shoulder. She screams.

Just then, a flash of green and red flips over the wall and lands with a boom, before the two girls.

"Let her go!" Raphael seethes, his sais ready to strike.

"Good evening, Raphael! You look as grumpy as ever." Karai smiles at him. She tightens her hold around the lizard girl, holding the dagger closer to her neck.

Every muscle in Raph's body is taut with anger and fear. He feels Mona looking at him, but he doesn't look over at her. He keeps his eyes trained on the one holding her captive.

Leo and Donnie climb up from the other end of the building. They seem to surround Karai and her hostage.

Karai turns so she can see ask three of them. She speaks to Leonardo. "Hello, Leo." She says in an eerily sweet tone.

Leonardo takes a step forward. "Let her go, Karai. She has nothing to do with this."

"Oh, but she does. I and my troops spied the canister in the back of the truck, just as you had. I had planned on a simple sneak attack, but then this little lizard had to call out and warn you. I thought you would have had better back up, Leonardo. She's not a very formidable lookout." Karai grins. "I am only going to say this once; hand over the mutagen, I let your new little pet go free, and we all walk away in one piece."

Mona's breath hitches when the tip of Karai's blade pinches her skin.

"Karai, I swear, if you hurt her..." Raphael begins to threat when Mikey comes charging in, riding on the shoulders of the Foot Bot he'd been fighting, his chucks wrapped around its neck.

"Booyakaska!" Mikey shouts, causing enough distraction for Donatello to jab Karai in the back of the knee just hard enough for her to lose her balance. Mona breaks free. Karai turns and immediately finds herself clashing her blade with Leonardo's. Donatello goes to Michelangelo's aid, but Raphael stops him.

"I'll cover Mikey. You get Mona on the copter!"

"Right." Donatello helps Mona off the ground and leads her to the T-Copter. As they approach, three more Foot Bots climb onto the roof. Donatello steps in front of Mona, shielding her. "I'll distract them. Just stay back!" He says to Mona.

Raphael finally takes down the Foot Bot Mikey was struggling with by stabbing it a few good times in the head with a sai.

"Why were you playin' around Mikey!?" Raph says to him.

"Hey, I was about to finish it." Mikey defends himself.

"Raphie!" Mona runs over and wraps her arms around him.

Caught off guard, Raphael eyes widen. He then pulls her back. "What are ya doin' out here! Where's Donnie?"

"Three more of those ninja robot things just attacked Donnie!"

Raphael grabs her hand and he and Mikey run to the other side of the roof. They run passed Leo and Karai, still dueling hard. On the other side of the invisible copter, they see their purple-banded brother trying to stave off the mechanical monsters. One of the bots is K.O'd. The second bot looks over at Mikey and makes an electric chirp. It has located the mutagen on the back of his belt. It and the third bot knocks Donnie down hard and go after Mikey.

Both bots jump up and dive towards Mikey, Raph and Mona. Mikey flies to the right. Raph tackles Mona and rolls to the left, bumping into the invisible copter. Raphael quickly finds and opens the side door and throws Mona inside. He gives her a dark look. "Stay inside."

Mona looks at him with utter resignation. Suddenly a Foot Bot storms up behind Raphael. Just as he turns around Donatello does a spinning kick into its chest and impales it with his bo.

"Thanks, Donnie, now get this bird flying!" Raph orders.

"On it!" Donnie climbs into the cockpit and starts flipping switches.

Raphael runs over to where Mikey is dancing around the final Foot Bot.

Mikey is moving from side to side, avoiding being filleted by the machine's swords. The bot, unfortunately gets the better off him, knocks Mikey down to one knee and cuts him on the arm.

"Ah!" Mikey wails. The bot then kicks him to the ground and takes the canister of mutagen from his belt.

"Mikey!" Raph yells as he comes to his younger brother's side.

The Foot Bot, having completed its mission, makes a synthetic chirp, signaling to Karai.

Karai and Leo are still immersed in their dangerous duet when she hears the signal. They are toe-to-toe, head to head. She smiles at her excellent equal. "I do love our meetings, but it's time for me to go."

The Foot Bot jumps in beside Karai and karate chops Leonardo on the shoulder. With the Bot holding the canister of mutagen, and Karai crowing in victory, she ignites a smoke bomb and both disappear in its dark haze.

Karai and the one Foot Bot is gone, but just to make sure they will not be pursued, six more bots climb onto the roof and encircle the Turtles.

Leonardo stands up and runs to the sound of the copter. "Raph, Mikey! Let's get out of here!"

Mona opens the side door, and Raph, Mikey and Leo dive in, not wanting to get hit by the rain of ninja stars being shot at them. As soon as Donnie sees them all inside he takes off, speedily soaring up into the sky.

Once the T-Copter is up and flying towards home, the soft thumping of the propellers loosens the tension of the moment and everyone relaxes. Donatello looks back from his controls into the cockpit.

Raphael groans from the weight of his brothers on top of him. He opens his eyes and sees that his nose is smashed up against Mona's. She looks back at him, unable to move and unable to breathe. He stiffly places his hands on the flood and pushes up with all his might. "Would you guys p-please get off of me? You weigh a ton!" Once Raph is free of his brothers' bodies, he sits up and gives Mona the stink eye. She sits up and looks away from him, ashamed of herself. He was going to yell, but he understands why she didn't listen to him. He's just really glad she's not hurt. He hopes she learned her lesson. He smiles and reaches out a hand to her when a painful moan leaves the lips from one of his brothers. "Mikey?" Raphael says.

Michelangelo sits up, grasping his blood-stained arm with one hand. He's hurt. Mikey got hurt.

Raphael turns away from Mona and goes to tend to his brother.

Raphael gingerly removes Mikey's hand and looks upon the wound… Without a word of regret or apology, Raphael pulls out the small med kit from his belt and starts to wipe away the blood from Mikey's arm.

Leonardo sees the myriad of expressions on Raphael's face. "Raph…?"

Raphael doesn't respond.

Michelangelo hisses. "It's OK, Raph. It doesn't hurt too bad."

Raphael stays silent, tossing the dirty wipes and bandaging the cut on his brother's bicep. If Raphael attempts to speak now, he may yell, or even cry. The only thing he can think of right now is that he failed Mikey. Raphael was too busy looking after Mona's tail instead of Mikey's shell... And Mikey had to pay for it. What kind of brother was he that he let him get hurt? This is all Raph's fault.

No.

This is all Mona's fault.

Mona sees the rigidity though Raphael as his back turned to her. Mikey's eyes are closed, wincing at how tightly he's being wrapped. Leonardo is staring at her sternly.

His gaze immediately puts her on a major guilt trip. Rather than taking ownership for what happened, Mona asks him a fair question. "Who was that terrifying girl?" Mona whispers.

Leonardo doesn't alter his steely gaze. "Her name is Karai. She is the 2nd in command of the Foot Ninja Syndicate... and Splinter's daughter."

Mona shakes her head. "How? I mean... why is she working with them? Why did she attack us and steal the mutagen?"

"Ain't none of that supposed to be any business of yours." Raphael spits at her. He helps Michelangelo lean back against the wall of the cabin.

Mona looks at Leo for more information, but he turns away, having nothing else to say at this time. He goes up front with Donnie and speaks with him softly.

Mona rests her head on her knees, in quiet remorse, wondering how much trouble she's actually in. She feels as though she deserves whatever is coming.

...

The T-Copter lands and powers down back in the garage. The turtles file out. Mona watches them; Donatello fiddling with his tracker, and Leo and Raph helping Mikey out. She can't stand them not talk to or looking a her. She can't go another moment feeling the way she does.

Mona jumps out of the copter, dashes passed them and block the garage door. She looks at them with tears in her eyes. She looks at poor mikey. She bows her head, placing her hands on her knees.

"I am so sorry! I am so very sorry! I didn't listen! I was being full of myself! I'm not a ninja! I'm not a fighter! I was in the way and I'm the reason you lost the mutagen and I'm the reason Mikey got hurt! I just… don't want to be worthless to you! You all have done so much for me and I don't know how to repay you. I know that you're angry with what I did. And I deserve it, but…" She looks up at them, fully crying now. "I don't care if you do anything else for me, just don't walk away from me! Please, don't leave me alone!"

The four boys are shocked at Mona's display. Aliens and robots they can deal with. Crying women is uncomfortable territory. But they can't have her keep feeling thins way. After what her parents did, none of them want her to be plagued with abandonment issues.

Fearless Leonardo steps up first. He places a hand on her head and she looks up at him. He smiles kindly. He honestly wasn't angry with her. His anger was towards Karai and how the power of the Shredder is still so strong upon her. "Mona, don't think for one moment that we would ever walk away from you. Tonight was just one of many nights that things don't quite go our way. Our victories and losses are my responsibility, not yours."

She looks at him with shock. "But…"

"I'm your big brother, right?"

Mona's lips part in awe. She nods her head and smiles.

"We won't stop trying. We will get enough mutagen, just like we will win back this city." Leo says.

Mona looks at him and then at Donnie.

Donnie laughs nervously. "Don't worry, Mona. We're not angry. W'ell try harder next time. We never give up."

"Mikey?" Mona looks at him.

"Awe, Mona. I'm fine. If I can't handle a little cut, what kinda awesome ninja would I be?" He unhooks uhimself from Raphael, walks up to her and places a hand on her shoulder. "And you're not worthless. You're a lot of fun. I love having you around."

Mona looks at Raphael, but he isn't looking a her.

"Do you trust us?" Leonardo asks her.

Mona smiles through her tears, so very glad that her friends took the weight of guilt off of her shoulders. "I do. Thank you."

"Good." Leo says. "Let's all get some sleep. We'll regroup in the morning." He leaves.

"Mikey, let me check that cut before you turn in." Donnie says.

"OK." Mikey follows him to the lab.

Mona looks back at Raphael, aware of his silence. She's glad everyone else is gone. She wants to apologize again to him privately. "Raph, I'm sorry. I guess you were right all along. I'm super glad you're not mad at me.

Raphael shakes his head at her. She is sorely mistaken. "My brothers don't speak for me."

"What do you mean?" Moan asks.

He uncrosses his arms and walks up to her. If he had held his tongue before, he surely isn't going to do that now. "My brothers don't know that I told you not to come and I told you way. Maybe they wouldn't have been so forgivin' if they knew that!"

"R-Raph, I…"

"That was so stupid of you!" He yells at her. Thinking back on Karai's dagger at her neck, all the Foot Bots around swinging weapons, it sends chills down his spine to think about it. It infuriates him. "You could have gotten hurt!"

"But, I didn't!"

"Because I was protectin' you instead of Mikey, and HE got hurt!" Raphael shouts.

Mona takes a step back. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to..."

"I know! You just wanted help!"

"I understand that now!"

"What you don't understand is that me and my brothers work together like a well-oiled machine. We know how to get the job done. We just started addin' April into the mix and she don't come out with us on patrols a lot. Adding a clumsy poser like you was a disaster!"

"Why are you being so mean?" Mona yells back. She is fighting back tears. She can't let him see the tears again; it would defeat everything she's trying to prove right now.

"Oh, you haven't seen mean! Try that stunt again and see what happens!" He points a finger at her. "Next time we go out, you stay put. The sooner we get that mutagen, the sooner my life goes back to normal." He turns and marches away.

But she grabs his arm to stop his retreat. "What do you mean, back to normal? You mean, before I came here and made your life miserable? I thought you and I were passed all of that. I thought... we were friends."

"What's the point?" Raphael says over his shoulder. "You're only here because you need our help. All of this friends and tutors and big brother stuff is CRAP! Once you turn back into a human, you'll be on your merry little way and forget about us... This is a waste of time talkin' to you."

"I am NOT a waste of time!" She pushes him hard on his shell, ticking him off all the more.

He turns to face her. Every time he looks at her, he wants to calm his anger, but he can't get over how reckless she was. She really scared him. "Could have fooled me."

Mona blinks at him, finally understanding that Raphael is not going to give her an inch and talk things through. She allows her own temper to surface and give him some words of her own.

"You are such a grouch! What crawled up your shell and died?" Mona yells at him.

"Same thing that keeps your personality so charmin'!"

"You gotta problem with me, Raphael?"

"Thought that was obvious, Lisa!" He so wishes Mona would have mutated into a guy. Then he'd have no trouble punching her square in the jaw. There is no way he'd let his brothers or Casey talk to him the way Mona is right now. But he won't hit her and she knows it and is taking advantage of this fact. He crosses his arms and pushes closer to her "Let's get one thing clear. I do not like you!" As he says these words, he realizes two things; he just lied to her and his sharp tongue is the only weapon he has against her.

She steps back, a bit daunted. "Well, you're not my favorite person in the world either."

"Then do yourself a favor and leave me alone, Lisa!"

"I, I told you not to call me that!"

"You're a big chore! Ever since you got here, stuff goes haywire and it's all your fault! You are IN MY WAY! So, however long you THINK you gotta stay here, stay outta my face and outta my life. The sooner you turn back human, the better."

"I said DO NOT call me THAT! I'm not Lisa anymore, I'm Mona!" She says with angry tears in her eyes.

"No, you ain't. You're still the stuck-up, loud, annoying, plastic hack you were before you mutated. Changin' your name don't count for nothin'. You were a horror to April before you came here. And since then, I've seen your horror for myself."

"Raphael!"

"Now, you can't even stand yourself, cause you know that your outside finally matches your inside… Lisa." Raphael sees that his words do the trick, sees the pain break across her face. His victory is short-lived, however. Her eyes pierce right through him. Her overflowing tears turn him cold. His anger quickly flees and he immediately wants to apologize, but he can't. He's already cut too deep.

Raphael, a mutant turtle, just told Mona, a mutant lizard, that she is a monster. There is nothing more damaging to someone's ego and vanity than to attack their image. And since her transformation, Mona has never felt so lowly of herself.

Her brown eyes glisten, as she stands exposed to him. She looks down at her scaly, webbed fingers. The pink polish on her nails now look ridiculous on her animalistic claws. She takes one of her ugly hands and slaps Raphael clean across his face. She runs straight to her room and slams the door.

Raphael now stands alone in the garage, knowing he deserves much more than a slap. He walks away in the opposite direction and goes to his room. He falls on his bed, wishing that he could sink all the way in. Out of all the things he's said to her tonight, one thing is true; he can't wait until the retro-mutagen is complete, so that he can stop dreaming hopeless dreams and go back to his lonely, dark life.

…

Early Sunday morning, before anyone is awake, a hooded figure makes their way to the surface. It's been a full month, much too long to be away from fresh, flowing air and the light of the sun. But, it's too early. The sun has yet to rise. Even so, the wakening sky makes Mona feel that much better. She let's her hood down for a moment, letting the breeze race over her skin.

Even though she's hidden under a few layers of clothes and a pair of large boots, Mona keeps to the shadows, heading to the only other place she hopes to be safe for now.

She remembers the house; it's hard to forget. There aren't many bright, yellow houses in Brooklyn, and this particular bright, yellow house happens to be next to the best bakery in the area. It was a few years ago, during her pudgy period, that Mona had her driver take her to that bakery, so that she could buy some caramel walnut brownies. She had noticed the oddly painted house next door, and the Goth girl who lived there.

It doesn't take Mona long to arrive, the sun still under the horizon. She looks around before climbing up the white, ivy-laden lattice to the second floor. She peers through the window, but doesn't seem to see the right room. She climbs up to the attic window and looks in to find a room, painted gray, with posters of dead flowers and skulls. _Good_, Mona thinks, _she hasn't moved._

Mona prepares herself. Mona had found it strange that her fellow student hadn't come to the Lair to see about her. Maybe Mona had been too much of a jerk for her to care. Whenever Mona had mentioned her to Casey or April, the subject seemed to change. But that can't be helped now. Mona has nowhere else to go. With that thought, Mona closes her eyes and tries to wipe away the images and words Raphael had thrown at her. Fine, if he wants her to leave, she'll leave. She just hopes that her being here won't be too much of a problem.

Mona raps lightly on the window a few times without an answer. The orange sunlight hits her shoulder, and Mona becomes nervous. She knocks a bit louder and the person inside rolls out of their bed.

Mona whispers. "Irma? Irma, it's me, Mona."

…

A/N: So… yeah… that happened. What do you think? Raphael being a bit harsh? Come back soon to see what happens next! Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Hello again! As always I really hope you are all enjoying this as much as I am writing it. Thank you for the following and favoriting and reviews. I see you!

…

CHAPTER 10- True View

…

The drowsy teenager, rolls out of bed and onto her hardwood floor with a thud. Is someone really tapping at her window? She sits up and sees the silhouette of someone outside of her three-story house. They keep tapping and whispering, "Irma... Irma, please open up."

Irma stands slowly, still half asleep. She rubs her eyes and goes to the window without putting on her glasses. Could it be April? But why? April has never come to her house. Perhaps she is in trouble.

Irma stares out the window, not yet opening it. She's not that loopy that she'd let in a total stranger. "Who are you?" She mumbles.

"It's me, Mona."

"...I don't know a Mona."

"You know, Lisa Kingsley from school, now staying with the Turtles... Mona!"

Irma didn't catch all of what she says. "...Lisa from school?" Irma perks up and squints at her through the glass. "What are you doing here? And why are you all covered up?"

"I had to get out of there. And I didn't have anywhere else to go. AND I couldn't very well walk around in my 'condition', you know. Would it be OK to stay here awhile, until the storm blows over?"

Alert enough to recognize Lisa's voice, Irma lifts open her window and backs away, allowing the odd visitor to climb in. Irma sits on the side of her bed, and Mona closes the window, looks around and sits on the floor. "Ah! Thanks, Irma. It's nice and warm in here, and not damp at all." Mona turns her back to Irma, pulls off her backpack, and starts to untie her large boots.

"So... Why are you here again?" Irma asks.

Mona sighs, finally getting the other boot off. She spins around and looks at Irma. "I should have known you didn't care that much when you hadn't come to visit me. Please accept my apology for being such a jerk to you before." She pulls off her hood and looks Irma in the eye. "This is the first time you're seeing me like this. So, what do you think? Not much different than the others, I guess." She removes the heavy clothes, leaving only her pink hoodie around her.

Irma blinks her beady eyes at her. She runs a hand through her short, dark hair, wondering why, under all of those clothes, Lisa had on a green jumpsuit. "I... why? You are confusing me." Irma stretches out her hands, as if she's looking for something in the folds of her sheets. "Why would you come all the way here?"

"I know it seems drastic. Maybe it would help if I started at the beginning."

"You do that." Irma kneels on her bed and swipes her hands all over. "Don't mind me. I'm just looking for something. I'm still listening."

"Well, I tried not to be a freeloader, tried to do my part and be grateful for what I have, but I mess up without even trying. Sometimes, I still miss my old life. At least then, I was alone so I only disappointed myself. Our school was so much easier to deal with."

Irma rolls her eyes and reaches behind her bed, still looking for her glasses. "So, you just up and ran all the way here because it's hard to start your popularity all over again?"

"I said I was sorry about how I acted back then! Gosh, can't I get a break anywhere?"

Irma finally feels the slim metal frames of her glasses, but they slip, just out of reach, down to the floor. She hops off of her bed and crawls underneath the mattress. "So, why did you really leave? You realize you weren't the cutest one in the room anymore? Having guy troubles? Or was there a more pressing matter?"

Mona hides her hands in the pockets of her hoodie. She had hoped Irma wouldn't have been so callous. Perhaps it was wrong to come here. Maybe the reason Irma hasn't come to the Lair has less to do with Mona and more to do with the fact that she doesn't like mutants. Maybe that's why April and Casey don't even mention Irma when they come visit Mona and the Turtles. Is Irma prejudice?

"I..." Mona starts. "I can go, if it's too much of a problem for me to be here."

"So, it IS a guy problem!" Irma says, halfway under her bed. "You have got to be the craziest girl I know!"

"I'm not the crazy one, Raphael is."

"Raphael?" Irma asks incredulously. She was just teasing Lisa. There was no way she would leave an elite school in a whole other country because of a boy.

"Yeah, big surprise huh? I don't know why he's so mean to me. I tried, I really did, but there's no getting through to him. He's so touchy. It seems like anything can set him off. Do you have that problem with Casey?"

"W-what? What are you talking about?" Irma pulls herself out from under her bed, unable to reach her glasses. She looks back at Lisa's muddy figure. "I don't have any problems with him. And what does Casey have to do with your Raphael?"

"My Raphael? Oh Irma!" Mona cries and pulls on her ponytail. "All I wanted was for him to like me, for him to think I was useful and strong, but it all backfired! I got in the way and he yelled at me, said such mean things. I just got so upset I just wanted to leave… so I did. I was going to talk to Leo but I didn't want to add more troubles to his plate. He has to find a way to take down the Foot and get through to Karai. And I can't ask Mikey to beat him up, after he got hurt because of me... And Donnie's busting his brain trying to make the retro-mutagen for me, so… I guess I am a burden."

Irma places her hands on her hips and looks at Lisa as if she'd grown a tail. "Are you... what are you talking about?"

"I just..." Mona's lips begin to quiver. She folds her arms about herself and kicks her boot across the room. "Raphael is the stupidest mutant ninja turtle in the world! I don't ever want to go back to the underground Lair!"

Irma is now completely befuddled. "You are never going back to the underground Lair."

"Well, maybe I am being a little dramatic. I just need sometime to clear my head. Oh, and I'd rather April not know where I am just yet. I don't want her to worry, but I don't want her showing up here with Casey and them dragging me back to the Turtle's Lair. But, maybe tomorrow you can call her and we can have a slumber party or something. That would make me feel better!"

"Stop! Just Stop!" Irma stands up and squints at Lisa. "You aren't making any sense!" She walks over to her dresser and opens a small box. "You come all the way from your snobby new school on the other side of the world, wearing a green leotard and mask, and knock on MY window at six in the morning! You probably couldn't tell anyone you knew because your parents would kill you if they found out you came back to America!" Irma finds her old pair of glasses at the bottom of the box. "You go on about a guys named Raphael and Mikey and underground Lairs and Foot soldiers and mutant turtles... did someone drug you? Is this some kind of mean joke? Do you think I'm dumb enough to believe all this? And I'm the ONLY person you could turn to?" She rubs her glasses clean on her pajama top.

When Mona hears Irma's words, a heavy weight of dread washes over her. Irma wasn't angry at Mona, nor did she have something against going to the Lair... Irma never knew about what really happened to Lisa Kingsley. Casey and April never told Irma the truth, which means Irma knows NOTHING about the Turtles! "Um... Irma? What were you looking for all of this time?"

"My glasses, duh! I'm blind as a bat without them. Now, tell me, Lisa..." She puts on her specs and turns around. "Why are you really..." Irma's eyes, now clear and focused, sees her guest in crisp detail. Lisa is not wearing a green jumpsuit, and Irma is pretty sure she didn't just arrive on a plane.

"..." Mona puts her hands up in surrender. Her mind is a train wreck. What should she do? What should she say? What are April and the Turtles going to do once they find out she did the one thing she promised never to do?

"..." Irma's eyes are huge and her breathing is uncontrollably fast.

"... Irma? Please, let me explain before you scream your head off." Mona stands up and Irma breathes even harder.

Irma takes one more huge breath, her eyes roll back, and so does her head. She keels over hard onto her floor, out cold.

"Oh no..." Mona looks down at her, not sure if she should try to revive her or make a quick escape.

A knock at the door. "Irma? Are you OK in there, pudding?" A female voice announces.

When the voice gets no response, the knob turns and a slender woman walks in. She looks just like Irma, only about twenty years older. Her dark hair has a thick gray streak in the front. She too, is wearing glasses. She looks down and in the middle of the floor lay Irma. "Irma, did you fall out of bed again? I said no more reading weird books before you go to sleep." The woman bends down and helps Irma sit up.

"Mom?"

"Yes, are you alright? What wild dream did you have this time?"

"Dream?" Irma sets her glasses rightly on her face and looks around her room. "Mom! Mom! Is she still here?"

"Is who still here?"

"The big lizard! I let her in but I didn't know I let her in and when I put on my glasses, Lisa was a lizard!"

Irma's mother purses her lips, stands and heads towards the door. "Irma Lynn, no more horror stories after nine pm… and clean up your room. There are clothes everywhere." She goes to the door and before leaving she says. "I'm gong to the morning market without you and then I'm off to visit you Aunt Clara. I think you need a few more hours of sleep. Bye!" And the door closes.

Irma stands and scans her room. She goes to the window and checks it. She knows it wasn't a dream; the bulky clothes the lizard arrived in are still all over the floor. Irma backs out of her room and before she opens the door to escape, Mona whispers.

"Please, Irma, don't be afraid."

Irma gasps. She is totally freaking out, hearing the creature, but not seeing it. She licks her lips and says, "W-who are you?"

"I told you, I'm… Lisa Kingsley, but I go by Mona now."

"Mona… Where are you? What happened to you?"

Mona sighs and reappears against the grey wall next to Irma's closet. "I'm sorry for coming here. I thought you knew what happened to me, but just didn't want to be around me."

Irma's eyes widen at the sight of the lizard girl. Unbelievable, but there she is. Irma slides over to her bed and sits. "Why… would I have known about what h-happened to you?"

Mona bites her lip. There's nothing she can do now. She can't imagine things getting any worse. "The day this happened to me… the day I was mutated into this…" She holds up her green, scaly hands. "April was the one who found me and helped me get to a safe place after my parents threw me out and made up that crap story about me going to a school in a different country." Mona looks over at Irma. "April took me to live with her friends, the Turtles, who are also mutants. I've been living there ever since. They saved me and promised to help change me back into a human but… I made a big mistake and one of them, Raphael…" She smiles sadly. "I think he hates me… so I ran away." She places her face in her hands. "There really is no place for something like me."

Irma places a hand over her mouth. She is thinking so many things right now. _What exactly is being mutated? Who or what are the Turtles, actual turtles?_ The most troubling thing: _if April and Casey are my friends, why did they never trust me enough to share this secret with me?_ "So, that's why those two were always running off without me… I thought they just wanted to be alone to kiss or something. I should be a little relieved but…" Irma, her face turning red, looks over at Mona. "I'm sorry! I was lost in my own thoughts!" She smiles. "But, it seems that you have the bigger problem."

Irma reaches for the box of tissue on her nightstand and walks over to Mona. She kneels beside her. Mona looks up and takes the tissue. Irma stares in her eyes. "You really are Lisa…" Mona blows her nose and Irma smiles. "Mona is you name now? It's an old name, but old stuff is cool nowadays… I like it… so, are you tired? Hungry? Need a shower or something?"

Mona looks up at her. "All of thee above."

Mona follows Irma to her bathroom. While Mona is in the shower, Irma makes some egg-white omelets, whole-grain toast and veggie sausage. She comes back to the room with the plates and sets them on her dresser. She then goes through her drawers and finds an old t-shirt and sweat pants.

Mona, wrapped in a towel, walks into Irma's bedroom, finding Irma cutting out the backside of the sweatpants with some massive, fabric scissors. "Hey, Irma. Something smells good."

Mona fits into the clothes given her quite nicely. She and Irma go through most of their meal in silence. Irma is in constant fascination, looking at her strange visitor. She has to ask. "How does it feel?" Irma asks.

Mona holds out her hand. "You tell me."

Irma touches the smooth, pebbly skin with awe. It's just like a real lizard. "No, I meant, what did it feel like changing into this? Do you still feel like yourself?"

"Hmm." Mona munches down her last s'nausage. "It hurt like the dickens. Can you imagine the agony of having to grow a tail?" She laughs. "But, the pain stopped as soon as the transformation was complete. I do feel like myself for the most part. Any reptilian urges I've had have been subtle enough to suppress."

"Like what?"

"Like… wanting to lie on my back and soak up the warm sunlight, but there's zero sun in the Lair, so I would hover around the stove when something's baking or sit next to the water tank in the lab while I study. I've found that before I fall asleep I want to curl up into a ball and wrap my tail around me. Once, I spent almost the entire day up in the tree in the dojo, just enjoying the view. And, I need to stop spacing out whenever a fly is nearby."

"Why?"

"Because, I let it happen once, and it is something I never want to do again." Mona sticks out her tongue.

Irma giggles. "I mean, why do you feel the need to hold back these lizard instincts?"

"Because, Irma, I'm still human. And I hope to look human again very soon."

"Sounds like you're half human now. Why not act like what you are?"

Mona sighs. "I tried that, but I only cause trouble."

"It sounds amazing. That thing you did, when you turned the color of my wall. I couldn't see you! It's like you have super powers."

"You aren't the only one who thinks this. I've been keeping a journal and talking to Donnie about everything I've been going through in this lizard body… He's a nerd-o-holic."

"Donnie… you mentioned him before." Irma says as she stacks up the empty dishes and cups.

"Yeah, Donatello, the sweetest guy I know. He's a genius and the one making the concoction that will turn me back into a human. He helps April and I with schoolwork and has a super crush on her!"

"Really?" Irma gasps.

"Yup! And Michelangelo, he's so cute! He's fun and loud and a great dancer and an awesome cook, and he makes me smile. And Leonardo, he's the big brother, my big brother. He's strong and confident and just an all-star guy… And then there's Raphael." Mona gets off the floor and perches on the windowsill. She looks out and is so grateful to see the shining sun.

"Raphael… he's the mean one that hates you?" Irma asks.

Mona keeps staring out the window, sees a couple walking by with a box of deserts from the next-door bakery and wishes she had a brownie. "Yeah…"

Irma lifts the breakfast tray and heads to the door. "Why don't you get some rest? I have some things to do around the house. I'll check up on you later, OK?"

Mona turns and smiles at her. "Sure, thanks, Irma."

"Oh, and I think I should call April."

Mona groans a pulls on her ponytail; so much for trying to hide from the unavoidable. "OK…"

…

Not much later, Irma comes back to her room with a laundry basket. She sees Mona, curled up on the bed, with her tail in her arms. Irma places a blanket over her. She then picks up all the clothes and takes them to the laundry room. While the clothes churn in the machine, Irma takes out her cell and dials her so-called BFF.

…

Raphael sits alone on the couch, watching an infomercial about a vegetable slicer called the Super Shredder. He would have laughed at the ridiculous name, but his thoughts are elsewhere. It's not often that he allows himself to go into an 'I don't give a flying fudge' rant, but he laid Mona flat last night, didn't care at all while he was doing it. Not until she slapped him in the face did he comeback to himself. He doesn't want to care about it, but he can't help it. He couldn't sleep; he's never been up this early. Leonardo was just walking out of his room when Raphael immerged from his own. He swiftly avoided eye contact with his all-knowing brother and headed straight for the living area.

Raphael has to admit to himself; the GIRL named Mona TROUBLES him.

Raphael wants to nod off and fall asleep, but he can't, not while he knows Mona is in her room, hiding from him and hiding from the world. _I am the absolute worst. Why would I say those things to the girl I… kinda think that's… not so bad and… sorta cute… crap._

He still can't admit it to himself. He stands up and starts to walk to the guestroom, mentally preparing his apologetic speech when…

"Hey, Raph!" April calls out. She swings over the turnstiles and runs over to him.

"I ain't do nothin'!" He shouts defensively.

"What?" April asks him.

"Yo, Raph! Sup?" Casey too, hops into the Lair. Both teens are carrying their bookbags.

"Uh, hey, guys. Why you here so early? Ain't it Saturday?" Raphael says in a cautious tone.

Casey grunts. "I know! But, Donnie thought it was a great time to have our tutor sessions with him."

"You gettin' serious about school, Case? That's good, I guess." Raphael smirks.

"I also bribed him." April unzips her bag and pulls out a blue plastic bag. The two boys follow her to the kitchen where she begins to stock the fridge with balls of dough, sticks of pepperoni, assorted blocks of cheese, and a bunch of vegetables. "I went to the grocery store. I thought later we could all have a pizza-making contest."

"Sounds fun." Raph helps her put the cans of tomato sauce away.

"Come on, Red. The sooner we get done with this boring study session, the sooner I can start enjoying my weekend." Casey says to April.

"See ya later, Raph." April says as she and Casey head towards the lab. "Oh, and, Raph, can you go wake up Mona? I'm sure she's still asleep."

Raphael inwardly groans. He can't avoid it now. He walks down the infinitely long hallway and stands at the door. He knocks. "Mona? You up?" He knocks again. "Mona… listen… I know you probably don't believe me but… I didn't… those things I said… well, I'd rather tell you to your face so, could ya open up?"

He waits a few moments more with no response. He opens the door. It's dark inside. "Mona?" He turns on the lamp and finds the bedroom empty. But maybe, she's hiding. He looks through the blankets and even pokes at the wall, thinking she may be in camouflage, but no. Maybe she's somewhere else, the dojo? He turns to leave when he notices her bookbag is gone, along with some of her other belongings. He slams the door and heads to the bathroom, finding that her toothbrush and blow-dryer are also missing. "She wouldn't have… but where would she?"

Raphael looks around, totally at a loss. What should he do? Should he go out and try to find her? Should he ask his brothers to help? No way. This is all his fault, along with every possible bad thing that could happen to her while she's out there alone! He shakes his head, not allowing himself to fear the worst and dashes to the lab.

"April! Donnie! Mona is…!"

April turns a pail face to Raphael as he bursts through the door, her hand holding her cell to her ear. "Mona is with Irma…"

"What?" Donnie exclaims. "But, why would she go there? Irma doesn't know about us."

"She does now." April gets up and goes to the other side of the lab to finish her conversation with Irma.

"This is bonkers!" Casey says.

"Didn't you or April tell Mona that Irma doesn't know about us?" Donnie says a bit perturbed.

Casey puts his hands up in defense. "Hey! I thought it was obvious! Irma never came down here before!"

April stick her phone in her back pocket and walks over to the guys. She stares at Raphael. "What happened last night?"

"Uh…" Raphael says.

"We went on patrol last night." Donnie says. "Somehow, Mona snuck into the T-Copter and went with us. She sort of made things a little difficult when the Foot attacked. Karai escaped with the canister of mutagen and Mona felt guilty about it."

"She felt guilty or you guys MADE her feel guilty?" April is still looking at Raphael.

"No!" Donnie says. "She was upset, but we assured her that we weren't angry with her and that everything would be all right. She was smiling when we all headed to bed, unless…" Donnie turns his attention to his worrisome-looking brother. "Raph, DID something happen last night after we got home?"

Raphael looks back and forth between his brother and friends, trying to find, as quickly as possible, the words to make him seem not so much at fault.

"You might as well fess up." April crosses her arms, staring Raphael down.

"Fess up to what?" Raphael squeaks.

"When I asked Irma what Mona said was her reason for running away, she said one thing… It's Raphael's fault."

…

Mona must be having a wonderful dream. The sweet smells of warm fudge fills her nostrils, making her mouth water. She reaches out wanting to grab a delectable morsel.

"Mona…"

Just a few inches closer and she'll have Heaven's desert!

"Mona…"

Mona grumbles and opens her eyes. She looks up and sees April and Casey standing over her, holding a white bakery box.

"April? Casey!" Mona sits up. She rubs her eyes and sees the two, and Irma by the door, smiling at her.

"Good morning, Mona." April says. "I'm glad to see that you're OK. We bought you some treats to help you feel better." April hands Mona the box.

Mona happily opens it, finding cookies and cupcakes, and a huge brownie. "Thank you. But, what are you doing here?"

"I told April that you were safe. And as cool as I was with a mutant lizard sleeping in my bed, April thought it best to come check up on you... speaking of checking up on friends, April, can I have a word with you downstairs?" Irma asks.

April bites down on her teeth and shrugs her shoulders. She knows she's about to get a lecture. "OK, Irma."

The two girls go, leaving Casey to witness Mona practically inhale the brownie.

"That was soooo good!" Mona sings.

Casey just smiles and looks around Irma's room. The gray walls, skull posters, black area rug, red-painted furniture, he likes it. "Cool room, huh?"

Mona rolls her eyes. "Sure, if you like this sort of thing, which you obviously do… So, CJ, how is Raphael?"

"CJ?" Casey raises a brow to the odd nickname. Only his little sister calls him that.

"I bet he's super glad I'm out of his precious Liar."

"Well, actually…" Casey had never seen Raphael look so nervous. Once Mikey, and Leo found out what happened and where Mona was, Raph was in a ton of trouble. He wasn't allowed go with April and Casey to ask Mona to come back. Splinter summoned him into his room. Who knows what will happen to him. "Raph is probably regrettin' whatever he did right now."

"Hmph, I hope so." Mona looks at Casey as he's studying a sculpture of a clay cat with bat wings on Irma's dresser. "I have a question, CJ." Mona asks.

"What's that?" Casey says.

"How long have you and Irma been dating?"

Casey's jaw almost hits the floor. He also makes a nauseous gurgling sound in his throat. "Are you… are you serious? Irma and I have not, are not, and will not date ever!"

"Oh, I'm sorry… but don't worry, I'm sure someone will like you someday. Don't be too upset that Irma turned you down."

"What are you… Irma never turned me down!"

"You poor thing, denial doesn't look good on you. But it's OK."

"Did Irma tell you that?"

"She didn't have to tell me anything. I see the way you two look at each other."

"You're senseless."

"I guess everyone can't end up like Donnie and April, huh?"

"Hey, HEY!" Casey raises his arms and his voice. "Chill! What are you talking about?"

Mona shrugs. "I thought it was obvious. Sure, they're not dating yet, but that bubble is going to burst and when it does, it is going to be thee cutest thing! And if you keep trying, maybe Irma will come around to your charms, and then you guys could go on a double date!" Mona squeals.

"Don't go jumping to conclusions! April and Donnie; not going to happen. Irma and me; NEVER gonna happen!"

"Oh, don't give up, CJ." Mona pouts at him.

"That's just it! I ain't giving up! I'll show that big nerd!" Casey roars.

"Who's the big nerd? Show him what?" Mona smiles excitedly.

"I'll just have to do something he can't do… I'll… I'll ask her to the spring dance! He can't top that!"

"The spring dance?" Mona asks. That's right. She supposes that the school's dance will go on with or without her. "Yes, I guess that's a good idea. But you'll have to outshine this 'big nerd' guy. What type of flowers does Irma like?"

Casey looks at Mona like she's crazy. "April!"

"Hey, that's a great idea! April is Irma's best friend! Ask April to help you pick out a nice corsage. I'm sure Irma won't be able to resist!"

Casey pleads with Mona silently for a moment, and then gives up. "Your head's full of cotton candy."

"If that's your way of saying thank you, then you're welcome. I'd rather be full of brownies though. Could you be a dear and go back to the bakery and grab me a few more?"

"What?"

"Well, I can't go like this can I?" She looks at him with big doey eyes.

Casey rolls his eyes. "Nuts."

…

This is the fifth time this year Hamato Raphael has been 'Splintered'. Michelangelo coined the term. Getting Splintered happens when one of them gets into so much trouble that they have to go to Splinter's room and sit through an hours' long lecture about how wrong they were. Not only that, but the convicted teen has to stand on a stool with one foot and hold two pails of water. It's a mild kind of torture. The Turtles hate it; fear it. Even April was Splintered once, when she got so frustrated during training, she threw an egg bomb which exploded right in Splinter's face. The Turtles sat silently waiting for her 'lecture' to be over. Donatello was beside himself with worry.

At the end of being Splintered, the teen would exit their sensei's room, sore, shaken, and repentant. No one gets teased after being Splintered. Although Leonardo Michelangelo and Donatello are very angry at how Raphael treated Mona, Leonardo being the most, leading to yet another human knowing about them, he still feels a little bad for his hotheaded brother. Getting Splintered is harsh, but hopefully it's effective this time.

So affective, that as soon as Raphael walks into Splinter's room with his pails of water and shuts the door, he immediately rips off his red bandana, hops on the stool, levels his buckets in each hand, and waits for his master to lay upon him his deserved punishment.

Splinter sits calmly on his large floor pillow, staring at his son. It's true that Splinter was disappointed after hearing the news at Mona's fleeing. He was relieved to find out that she was OK, but a little ticked that she went and exposed herself and his family to a human. Splinter shakes his head, sips down the last of his tea, stands and walks towards Raphael.

Raphael knows he's wrong and that he was too late to fix anything before it came to this. All of this commotion stems back to him and his insatiable temper. Raphael is so sure this is his issue, which is why he is so quick to bring on the torture. He'll hold these buckets as long as he's ordered to. He'll admit to every sin, if asked, without a rebuttal.

Splinter stands before him and regards his student's downtrodden state. Splinter raises his hands and takes hold of the water pails. "Give these to me."

Raphael looks up at him, shocked. "But, I…"

Splinter takes the buckets and puts them on the floor. "Step down from the stool and sit with me."

Splinter and Raphael kneel in front of each other, Splinter looking at him kindly and Raphael not looking at all.

"Raphael, tell me about Mona."

Raphael flinches at the sound of her name. "She's… not here, because of me."

"I've figured as much… What was she like before she left?"

Raphael finally looks over at him. "Whadaya mean? She was OK, I guess."

"Was she funny, shy, pushy?"

Raphael is very confused by these questions. He shrugs. "She was… OK. I don't know what you want me to say."

"She must have been more than OK, for you to interact with her in the ways that you did. What is it about her that sets your heart afire?"

"My what!?"

Splinter makes a scrunchy sound in his snout and then begins to chuckle. He then laughs so hard that he almost doubles over, slapping his knee. "Raphael, I am sorry but this is so funny!"

"M-master?" Raphael looks away and looks back, knowing that he must be missing the joke.

Splinter calms down and wipes a tear from his eye. Splinter is actually happy. His children are so young and so different from the rest of the world. It is refreshing that they get to have normal teenager problems now and then. "Raphael, I am not angry with you. I just want to know why you never came and talked to me about what you were feeling? Remember that I offered this to you."

Raphael lets out a sigh of relief. "I don't know why. I thought she was just annoying but now…" He looks away, his cheeks starts to flush. "I thought it was dumb of her to sneak on the T-Copter. It was dumb that she called attention to herself, and it was dumb everyone was so quick to forgive how dumb she was, even after Mikey got hurt. I wanted her to know how angry I was but… I never told her how scared I was… that she might have gotten hurt."

Splinter grins. "And why do you feel this way?"

"I feel this way because I like her." Raphael's eyes pop open. He shakes his head and waves his hands. "Don't get me wrong! I don't LIKE LIKE her! Not in the way goofy Casey thinks I do! I just think she's cool, a lotta of fun, almost like a friend! And I don't like it when my friends get hurt so… yeah."

"Hmm." Splinter smiles. "Why is she 'almost' a friend and not a true friend?"

Raphael frowns and thumps his fingers on the floor. "Because… I'm sorry, Master. I just can't say right now. Is it OK that I think about it? At least until after we get the retro-mutagen and she changes back into a human?"

Splinter raises a brow at his strange request. But Splinter is a wise rat. He sees the hesitancy in Raphael. His son is not so easy to trust someone. It's an admiral trait in a ninja, but detrimental when trying to build relationships. Splinter sees that Raphael doesn't want to hurt Mona's feelings, but can't help but to play it safe. Raphael is guarding his own feelings, just in case his would-be friend turns around and leaves after she gets what she wants. Somehow, Splinter had hoped his son would think more of Mona than that. Then again, Splinter is no longer a hormonal teenager, and was never a mutant one. He nods his head. "I understand. A young man needs time to think and make the right decision. I will respect your request. However, once Mona returns I will no longer tolerate such brutish behavior to our guests or to your brothers. You must begin to understand others' point of view in order to live in peace. Mona needs us, and as long as she is with us you will treat her with kindness. I know you have it in you, Raphael."

"Yes, sensei." Raphael bows and sits back up. " Um… does this mean I don't have to get Splintered?"

"What does that mean?" Splinter cocks a curious eye at him.

"Nothing, nothing. But…" Raphael looks over at the door, rubbing a hand over his mouth. "Would it be alright if I stay in here a while more, so, ya know, the fella's think I'm still holdin' those terrible buckets?"

Splinter looses his smile. His son, always trying to save face. "Very well, Raphael. We will spend the rest of our time in meditation, dwelling on what was said here today, and molding our minds and bodies into a more balanced state."

Raphael nods and quickly gets into position, feeling a little begrudged, wondering if he should have left and told his brother of Splinter's forgiveness, or if the buckets would have been the better deal. Either way, he sits quietly and concentrates on his breathing, letting go of his anger, accepting his guilt, reacquainting himself with gentleness, and thinking of Mona.

…

Down in Irma's kitchen, April couldn't look more apologetic. After Irma called her a fake friend, liar, and untrustworthy tyrant, April had to try to defend herself. "But Irma, try to understand. This type of secret wasn't mine to tell. If the wrong people found out, it could be life threatening. And it's not that I don't trust you… it's that the more people know, the more chance it is that the enemy could take advantage of you. I don't want to put any of my friends in danger, and you're my friend, Irma… aren't you?"

Irma taps her foot and crosses her arms. 'I don't know. I always thought you and Casey couldn't wait to get rid of me, always running off on your secret dates."

"No way, Irma! There were never any secret dates with Casey."

"Really?" Irma softens.

April sees the hopeful question in Irma's eyes and smiles. "You were afraid Casey and I were a couple?"

"No! Not afraid but…" Irma fumbles.

April can't believe what she's seeing and hearing. She is absolutely sure that Irma would have never shared her feelings or tried anything shiesty if April and Casey were dating. Irma is a morally good person and would have held her peace. But now that she knows that Casey is available… April decides not to tease Irma about it now and makes a mental note. "Honest, we were just going to meet our teenage mutant ninja turtle friends."

"That sounds ridiculous… but I'm glad you're finally telling me the truth."

"How can I make it up to you?" April asks.

Irma smirks. "I can think of one thing…"

April blinks. "Oh… Irma, I don't think I can."

"Why not? I already know the turtles exist! Mona practically told me everything anyway."

"But…"

"You could ask. There's no harm in asking if I can come to this secret Lair."

"OK… I wonder what Master Splinter will say…"

"Master Splinter?" Irma asks.

April grins. "He's the Turtles' father and sensei. He's the kindest and wisest RAT you'd ever want to meet."

"R-rat?"

"Yup." April pulls out her cell. "You'll have to meet him and get his approval yourself… Are you sure you want to talk to a six-foot mutant rat?"

Irma knows April is trying to deter her. She stiffens her lip and nods. "Of course. I… I'm not afraid."

"Fine, we'll leave once it gets dark." April taps a quick text in her cell to Donatello. 'Hey, Donnie! All is fine here. Mona is Mona, LOL. Irma KNOWS. Can she come back with us to Lair 2nite? Crazy request, I know. Please don't be angry."

Casey trots down the stairs looking somewhat annoyed.

"How's Mona?" April asks him.

"Fine, she wants more brownies so…"

"Oh, how sweet!" Irma teases him. "Would you pick me up a bear claw?"

"And a blueberry muffin for me?" April taunts.

"Very funny… uh, April, why don't you come with me? I need to talk to you about something."

"OK." April follows him out. "We'll be right back, Irma." She and Casey leave out the side door and down the sidewalk. The two walk and talk quietly, totally unaware that Irma's yellow house has been monitored from the shadows ever since a certain mutant lizard crawled out of the sewers early this morning.

…

A/N: Oh, snap! If you haven't already guessed, let me assure you that things are about to get crazy. What do you think? I'm eager to know! Thanks a lot for reading! Happy weekend!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Happy February! Is it just me, or did January just fly by? Speaking of flying by, this story has already breached its halfway point! I really hope you all are enjoying this. I PROMISE you, there is so much more to come. Again, thank you to all who have read, favorited, followed and reviewed. It means a lot.

…

CHAPTER 11- Hei Spy

…

Casey hadn't said anything during the 50 paces it took to travel from Irma's side kitchen door to the sparkling bakery. He stays a few paces behind April, wanting to stop her and say something, but can't. What Mona had previously said to him makes him wonder. What if there is something more to Donatello and April that he cannot already see? What if he is the one who is the clueless nerd? Getting the nerve to ask April his question may be pointless. But, Casey isn't that logical and is sure that April would never choose a mutant turtle over a human.

It's at this time that Casey remembers that April isn't all human herself and asking her his question seems that more pointless.

They walk in and the brass bell tinkles at their entrance. Casey watches April speak with the bubbly clerk on the other side of the display glass. April doesn't notice his silence until she turns around and asks him what Mona wants.

"What? Oh, she wanted brownies or something." Casey says.

"Was it brownies or not?" She giggles.

"Yeah, two big slices."

They pay at the counter and before Casey opens the shop door, April grabs his arm. "Hey, didn't you want to talk to me about something?" She asks.

Casey turns around and looks at her. "It's… nothing. Forget about it."

"Oh, no you don't." April pulls him over to a small, white set of a round table and chairs. Once seated, she continues. "Spill it, Jones!"

Casey sinks back into his chair and groans. Why is it so hard for him to say? "It's dumb, OK?"

"What's dumb?"

"Mona just… said some stuff that got me thinkin.'" Casey crosses his arms and looks away.

"Ha." April says. "She got to you too?"

"What do ya mean?"

April glances quickly at her hand on the table, her nails still polished in green and purple. "Let's just agree that Mona has a lot of opinions on things she knows little about."

"Exactly!" Casey yells. "Like, she was just tellin' me that I should buy flowers for Irma and BEG her to go to the school dance with me… as if!"

"Really?" April grins. "Where would she get an idea like that?"

"Beats me."

"I mean, you'd think she knew that you wouldn't be caught dead at a school dance."

"Well…" Casey rubs the back of his head. "I wouldn't say all that… if I get the right girl to go with me, I may be able to stand wearin' a tie for a few hours."

April looks at him strangely. "Are you saying you'd go if you had a date?"

Casey sighs. "I'm saying that I'd go… if you went with me."

April's eyes grow wide. It takes her a moment to answer him. "Casey, I…"

"Look, April…" He interrupts her. "I know things are crazy right now with the 'fighting to stay alive' stuff. And we've been back and forth to the Lair so much, I feel like we live there. It's cool that we don't have normal lives with normal friends. I wouldn't trade our friends for the world! But, it might be nice to do somethin' normal and corny for once, ya know? Do what regular high school kids do… and go to a spring dance. What do ya say?" He looks at her and holds out his hand across the table.

April blinks at him in surprise. Casey is being sincere and it's creeping her out. Still, what he says moves her. It would have been stranger if Casey had asked her about the spring dance without Mona stirring the conversation. April would have guessed that Mona would be more upset about missing the biggest event of the school year. But if the zany, mutant girl talked so casually about it with Casey, then April supposes that Mona is over it. The only confusing thing to April is the reason WHY Casey is asking her to be his date; it is what normal teenagers do.

Before April met the turtles, she was all alone. Normal kids ignored or bullied her. She found peace in doing well in her studies and being her father's personal lab assistant. She never felt normal. Perhaps her secluded upbringing and social rejection prepared her to accept the Turtles as they are. She grew fond of them immediately. From that point on, April could care less as to what others thought of her. People can be huge jerks, but at the end of the day, she knows she will be able to smile and laugh and be happy with the Turtles. So, she finds it strange that Casey is trying to offer her normalcy in the form of a spring dance, when her true family is anything but. To do something normal would be abnormal.

April looks down at her nails again. She can't help but consider; to do something as normal as go to a dance as Casey's date would be a cruel offense to the closest person in her life, that which can never be normal.

Without wanting to go too deep into her reasoning, April replies. "I don't think so, Casey. I'm just not into that kind of stuff." She shrugs and stands up, holding the white bakery box. "Plus, I bet you don't even own a tie."

He notices her trying to end the conversation and make her way out the door, but he waves a hand at her, attempting to coax her to sit back down. "Hey, that's not the answer I was lookin' for. Did ya even think about it?"

"Yes, I thought about it, and it's the only answer I have." She grins. "Come on. Let's get these brownies back to Mona before she wigs out."

Casey stands and catches the door as she walks out of the bakery. The way she's being so light-hearted and ignoring his grown-up, serious tone is ticking him off. He catches up to her before they pass the tall hedges in front of Irma's house. "Wait a second! I'm not finished! Tell me why you won't go with me? It's just a stupid dance!"

April turns around to face him, trying to keep her cheerful façade. "Gee, Case, if it's just a stupid dance, then why are you practically begging me to go?"

"Because, it'll be fun! I'd show you a good time. We'd dance and drink punch and hang out. AND I DO own a tie!"

April tilts her head to the side. "If you want to have a dance party, why don't we set one up at the Liar? The guys would like it, Mona would LOVE it, and it would be a good way to introduce Irma."

"Sure, we can do that later! But that's not what I'm askin' ya now. I want to go with YOU and just YOU. I want it to just be us. I want it to be a date, a real one. Why…" He stops and looks at her hands that clutch the white box that she holds. He finally notices her manicure. He looks at her suspiciously. "If you don't wanna go with me… who would ya wanna go with?"

April huffs and looks away from him as if he's being childish. She's slowly loosing her cool. "I couldn't go with anyone."

Casey steps closer to her and lowers his voice. He runs a hand over hers, gently sliding over her olive and grape-colored nails. "I didn't ask ya who ya COULD'NT go with…"

April frowns at Casey. If her trying to reflect the issue is so obvious, why is it not obvious to Casey that she just wants to stay neutral? It's key to their friendships and their survival. "Casey, going to the dance with you is not a good idea."

"Why? Is it because you don't want to be seen with me, or is it because you can't be seen with HIM?"

"I... I can't believe you're doing this now! You're asking me to do something that HE can never do! It's like you're trying to score some imaginary points over him! Well, I'm not playing any games! I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings! You are both my friends, and he's your friend too. What you're asking… wouldn't be fair."

"That's a dumb excuse. You didn't say no when he asked you ta go flying in his helicopter! You don't say no when he asks you to help in his lab, and you were beggin' HIM to help you study when you're supposed to be MY tutor! I ask you to do one little thing and you straight-up dis me!"

April wanst to be more angry, but that would give too much away of how she's really feeling. Going to the dance would not be a little thing to Donatello. April relaxes her shoulders, rolls her eyes and smirks. "I'm trying to find a better reason for you to be acting like this, but all I can come up with is that… you're jealous."

"I'm not JEALOUS! Why can't you admit that you like spending time with him more than you do me?"

April shakes her head. "That's not true…"

"Yeah, it is. Why th'heck you agree to an 8am study session on a Saturday with him?"

"It was the only time he was available this week." She says simply.

"What about me? Saturday is my holy day, my sacred weekend time! But, you don't seem to care about that! You stopped coming to the ice rink with me, stopped going to the pizza parlor! Then as soon as we get to the Lair, you're all like '_What's up Donnie-boy? Whatcha workin' on, Donnie? Can I help you in the lab, Donnie? Can you help me with my Algebra homework, Donnie? Can I wax your shell, Donnie-Wonnie?'_"

April levels his eyes at him. "You're being ridiculous."

"It's the truth! You can't wait 'til you get around him and you both fly off into your nerdy world."

April rightfully ignores his mockery. "I stopped going to ice rink because I started taking pre-college classes on those evenings. And eating pizza every week is unhealthy! You and I are together everyday at school. I see you six days a week. That's how much you and I hang out. We cut up during class. We eat lunch together everyday. We walk home together. We ALWAYS walk together to and from the Lair. If anything, I spend most of my waking moments with you. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Casey opens his mouth to bark at her, but snaps it shut again. He deflates a bit and folds his arms. "Yeah, it means a lot to me… that's why I wanted to go to the dance with ya. I thought dressin' up and doin' somethin' different would be fun… we'd have a blast."

"I always have a blast with you, Casey." April smiles. "But, the spring dance is out of the question. I'm sure you understand why I don't want to do something that makes our 'other' friends feel left out."

He looks at her and sighs at her resolute stature. He tried. He knows that she's being honest, but she's not being totally honest. And he's sure she's not going to tell him everything right now. Casey places a hand on her shoulder. He bores his eyes into hers. He doesn't want this moment to be forgotten. He wants her to remember the choice that she made today, and why she made it. He wants to caution her that she'll have to make another choice in the future as well. "Life isn't fair, Red." Then he says something truthful, but unfortunately, revealing. It surprises them both. "You are going to have to break someone's heart someday. And you are going to have to live with that decision."

April stares at him silently. Casey gets the last word and he takes the box of sweets from her hands and walks back to the house. April follows him from a distance, feeling the weight of his final words of the matter on her shoulders. She wouldn't have felt so heavy if she already knew what her choice would be.

…

Mona sits at Irma's desk, brushing her hair. "53,54,55,56…"

Irma sits on her bed, looking up from her book at Mona. _Is she seriously counting her brushstrokes? Is she really that type of person? _"So, what are you going to do when you see Raphael tonight?" Irma asks Mona.

Mona stops her brushing and looks over at Irma. "What do you mean tonight?"

Irma shrugs. "Sorry, you can't stay here. It's not that I mind, but I don't live alone. My Mom would blow a fuse if she saw you here. Camouflage or not, it's too risky. So, you and April and Casey, and I are going back to this secret Turtle Lair tonight."

"But, Irma!" Mona puts the brush down. "I can't go back yet! I just ran away this morning! Raph hasn't had enough time to feel stupid! The next time he sees me, I want him to grovel! I want him to beg for my forgiveness!"

"What in the world did he do?"

"He… said some very mean and disturbing things to me."

"Like what?"

"He said that I'm ruining his life and he can't wait to get rid of me, and that I get in his way."

Irma shrugs. "I used to think of you like that all the time at school. Why is it bothering you now that someone FINALLY says it to your face?"

"I don't know… Maybe it's because… I never needed anyone else other than my parents before. They threw me out like garbage. Now, another person I need to depend on doesn't want me around… I guess it hurts." She feels the weeping coming on again, but decides to get mad instead. "He really, really gets on my nerves!"

"Sounds like my kind of guy." Irma looks back at her book.

"Come on, Irma!"

"I'm sorry!" Irma smiles at her. "I can't help it if I find it amusing that there is someone in the world who is more annoying than you. I feel bad that all of this happened to you, I do. But you can't ignore the irony."

"It is ironic!" Mona stomps her foot. "I was a bully, now I HAVE a bully! I always got the last word in an argument, and now Raph can't keep his trap shut! He's a meanie!"

"Can't wait to meet him." Irma says.

"Oh, don't you worry. When you do, you'll see what I've been talking about! He can act as cool as he wants, but I know he's just… RUDE!"

Irma sets her book aside and peers at the lizard girl as she pouts up storm. Irma tests the waters. "I think this has nothing to do with what was said and ALL to do with who said it."

Mona looks at Irma. "Come again?"

"You like Raphael. In fact, you really like him. I suspect when you two are in a room together, it's like fireworks. There is so much energy and tension between you two that if one of you doesn't leave, there would be a massive explosion! I bet there were times when he walked into a room, sees you, and then walks right back out. I bet you've done the same thing."

Mona can't argue with that. It has happened.

Irma taps her chin. "I bet he never has anything positive to say to you or about you. I bet you two loose sleep thinking menacing things about each other. My theory, however, can only be valid if Raphael likes you too... and I think he does."

Mona shuts her eyes. "You couldn't be more wrong."

Irma raises an eyebrow at her.

"You're right about me though!" Mona says. "I do like him… I want to like him, but I don't think it would do any good."

"What do you like about him?"

"Before I answer that question… why do you not find it icky that I think a mutant turtle is dateable?"

Irma holds up her book. "I'm reading a mystery-thriller about a half-girl half-witch, who falls in love with a were-wolf detective… I can't really judge you."

Mona smiles as she thinks of Raphael. "There's just something about it him… Besides the fact that I think his grumpy face is adorable and has muscle-y arms that could probably lift a truck... I like that he's volatile. I like that he's gritty and quick-witted, and smarmy, just not with me. I just wish he'd let me appreciated those things instead of be inflicted by them. And I know that there's a soft side to him, if only he'd let me see it… As much as I don't want to believe it, I know that Raph can't stand me."

"He sounds like a big baby." Irma flips through her pages. "A little boy who doesn't know how to share his feelings; the type that teases the girl he likes and pulls on their ponytails."

Mona gasps at Irma's words. She remembers… all of the teasing, how Raphael could never give her a straight response, how he eggs her on, and how he pulled on her ponytail that one time during Turtle Tag. Maybe…

Mona's face turns red when she sees Irma's big smile. "No, no no! It's not true. It couldn't be. But if it is…"

"So, if you turn everything around that Raphael said to you, that made you want to run away, I bet you he wanted you to stay and see that he does care about you. We being female, being the superior sex, have to do all the thinking and catch all the clues. Raphael may have said some mean things, but you have to figure out why he said them. I bet that Raphael is very sorry for the things he said and how he made you feel. I bet he can't wait to have you back home."

"Huh, that's a new way of thinking about it." Mona says.

"It makes sense to me, and I've never met the guy." Irma lies back on her bed and opens her book again. "Guys, are so easy to read. They usually say the opposite of what they're feeling so they don't look weak. That's what this werewolf detective guy in my book is like."

Mona spins in her chair a few times thinking. "Do you know what Casey is thinking?"

Irma grimly looks over at Mona. "Sadly, I think I do."

"You should give him a chance, Irma. If April should with Donnie and I should with Raph, give Casey a shot too."

Irma sits up so quickly, she almost drops her book to the floor. "April with Donnie? She… SHE DIDN'T TELL ME THAT!"

"Oh, boy… Sorry, Irma. Excuse my big mouth! Nothing is going on yet, I swear! It's just my wishful thinking!"

Irma stares at Mona having a giggle fit. She shakes her head. "This is the weirdest day of my life."

Mona nods her head at her words. She spins around in the swivel chair once more, thinking that in just a few more hours, she'll be going back to the Lair. What will happen once she walks through the turnstiles and looks at Raphael again? Will there be fear, anger, or resentment? Will he still have that calloused expression, or will he let her in? Either way, Irma is right. Mona has to go back. She owes her friends an apology for making them worry. The Lair is her home and its residents are her family. For now, she will keep guarded, yet optimistic, about Raphael. "So, Irma, are you excited to meet the guys?"

"They are mutant turtles that know ninjitsu, right?"

"Yep."

"I am totally excited!"

…

The stranger in the shadows has not left their post, keeping a trained eye on the tall, yellow house, where inside, four teens enjoy their lazy Saturday. April, Mona and Irma eat their sweets from the bakery. Mona, in her glorious, sugar high, starts painting toenails and Casey excuses himself to the den to watch some hockey on the only TV in the house. Later, Irma hobbles down the steps, not wanting to mess up her new pedicure. She goes to the den to check up on Casey. He gives her a gapped smile and thumbs up as the sports channel flickers on the screen. He looks down at the black paint on her toes. The big toes are decorated with a white skull with red eyes. He thinks they're awesome, but doesn't say it.

Irma asks Casey if he wants to help her make pizza. He jumps at the opportunity, but is quickly disappointed when Irma pulls out the ingredients; broccoli, artichokes, pears, basil, olive oil, and fresh goat cheese. He helps her make the disgusting pizza anyway and they bring up the wholegrain-crusted pies to Irma's room, where they find Mona and April singing and dancing to loudly to pop music. When the chorus comes in, Mona lets her hair down. She and April face each other, singing into their hairbrushes. April sees Casey gawking at her and she calms down quickly. But, Mona keeps on performing. They all applaud her once the song is over. They sit in a circle on the black area rug and cut into the pizza. Casey eats four slices and Irma gives him an 'I told you so' face.

Into the late afternoon, they finish another round of Crazy Eights. Indie Rock plays softly in the background. Irma passes around more hot, herbal tea and kale chips. Mona, sick of loosing another hand, leaves the circle and decides to take another nap, falling asleep at the foot of Irma's bed. Casey plops on the beanbag in the corner and pulls the lid of his cap over his eyes.

Irma yawns and turns to April. "I think they have the right idea. You can take the other side of my bed and I'll take the floor pillow."

April is about to speak as her phone buzzes. It's Donatello. "You go ahead and rest on your bed, Irma. I'm going to take this." April quietly leaves the bedroom and trots downstairs. She answers her phone as she sits on a stool at the kitchen counter. "Hey, Donnie." She says with a smile.

"Hiya, April! Just checking on you guys to see if everything is OK." Donnie says.

"Everything is fine. Mona is in a good mood. Irma is surprisingly taking the news well about me having mutant friends. Casey is being Casey."

"Oh, is he?"

She giggles. "Yeah… How's Raph?"

There is a pause. "He got Splintered."

"Yikes." April hisses. "I bet he did. Do you know how bad it was?"

"We don't know. A few hours had gone by without any sign of Raph."

"A few hours!" April gasps. She remembers getting Splintered, having to hold one bucket of water over her head for just one hour. She couldn't lift her arms to do her hair for a week. The turtles have to hold two buckets of water. Raphael must be worn out.

"When he came out, he looked very tired. He went straight to his room without a sound." Donnie says.

April almost feels bad for Raphael, but remembers how much worse Mona must have felt from his words. "He probably deserved ever drop of water in those buckets."

"Maybe…" Donnie says. "Will you be bringing Mona back tonight? Does she even want to come back?"

"Yes, and yes. Somehow, Irma talked her into it. We'll be leaving Irma's house as soon as it's night."

"Great. I'll be waiting for you… I mean! WE'LL be here waiting for your safe return! Heh…"

April just remembers something. "Speaking of returning, I need to ask you a big favor…"

"If it's about Irma, Splinter already agreed to meet her."

"Wow, really?"

"Yeah, it's OK for her to come down."

"Thanks, I thought Splinter would have been more angry."

"Me too. Maybe he took out all of his anger on Raph earlier. When Splinter came out of his room, he seemed very calm."

"Whatever he did to Raph must have been horribly satisfying." April shakes her head.

Donnie chuckles. "I just hope things change for the better between Raph and Mona."

"Me too, and the sooner we get her back to the Lair, the better. It seems like Mona causes trouble wherever she goes."

"What do you mean? I thought everything was OK there. What has she done now?" Donnie asks with concern.

April giggles. "Don't worry. It's nothing too crazy. Mona is just…flighty. Our school's spring dance is next week. Mona was the head of the planning committee before all of this happened. I think she's trying to ease her pain of not being able to go by forcing Casey to ask Irma."

"I… how does that even make sense?"

"It doesn't. I'm not sure about Irma, but I was surprised when Casey said he wouldn't mind going to the dance."

"Oh… so is he going to ask Irma?" Donnie asks her with all of the hope in the world.

April hesitates. "No… I don't think he is." _Shoot! Now, I've said too much. Hopefully, he won't catch onto anything I HAVEN"T said. BUT HE WILL! He's too smart! The turtle is too smart!_

"…Did he ask you?"

_And why shouldn't I tell him the truth? I have nothing to hide!_ "He did."

There was a long pause. Donnie waits for April to share the result of Casey's question, and April is hitting her head repeatedly on the counter.

"Oh… OK." Donnie finally says.

April lifts her head from the counter. "That's it? You're not going to ask me if I said yes or no?"

"I figure… I'd find out sooner or later."

_Oh, Donnie! Why do you have to be such the underdog?_ "Do you think that I'm the kind to want to put on a frilly dress and wobbly heels and mingle with people that I don't like to be around and dance to songs I don't listen to, just so I can hope to be as popular as Mona once was?"

Donatello's jaw drops at her cynical response. "Well, I guess when you put it like that..."

"The school dance was something special to Mona, not me."

"I take it that you said no to Casey. Is this why you turned Casey down when he asked you to go to the dance with him, because you don't like the other students or the music they'll play?"

She sighs. "No, those aren't the only reasons."

"Then, what else?" He bites his lip. He catches himself at the edge of his own stool, waiting to hear what she may say next.

She slaps her cell to the side of her face and looks up at the ceiling. "Those kids at school aren't my friends. They don't know me, and they don't go through all of the crazy things I go through… Besides Casey and Irma, if I wanted to celebrate with anyone, it would be with you, all of you."

Donatello smiles and nods. "I see… have you ever been to a school dance?"

"Once, in junior high. I stood by the punch bowl the whole time. I was left alone when the group of girls came with went to dance with their boyfriends. It was just awkward for me. The others seemed to have a great time."

"What happens at school dances?" He asks.

"There are dance contests, and a DJ and junk food and dorky ties and colorful dresses, and lights. The most popular boy and girl get crowned king and queen of the ball… I guess it's not all bad."

Donatello listens to April's words, but in the back of his mind, angry thoughts brew. _Darn that Casey, trying to 'one-up' me! I'm glad April said no, even if she was thinking of me and my brothers and not just me. I can ask her too, even though I already know the answer._ "Well, if it makes any difference, April, if I could go to the Spring Dance, I would have ask you too." His face goes red. "I mean, you know, then we could all go, and have tons of fun." He smiles a big toothy smile and though she can't see it over the phone, she knows it's there.

She can't help it. She shouldn't say it, but lately she's been allowing herself to be careless around him. "I would have said yes."

"R-really?" He asks breathlessly.

"I know we would have had a wonderful time… I'm gonna take a quick nap before heading out. I'll text you when we're close."

"OK… Sweet dreams, April."

"Goodbye." April slips her phone in her back pocket and heads up to Irma's bedroom. She wallows over the floor pillow and does dream sweetly.

Donatello hangs up and pulls out his trusty, purple pen and a fresh pad of paper. His mind is spinning with new thoughts and ideas. He will make this happen and it will be epic!

…

under teh cover of night, Irma nervously pulls at the strings of her gray hoodie as she walks beside a bundled up Mona. They follow closely behind April and Casey, being led through the dark, dingy backstreets of New York. A rat knocks passed a trashcan and skitters across their path and Irma gasps. It makes her think of the larger, mutant, rat father she is soon to meet. "Are you guys sure that going this way is safe?" Irma asks.

"We do this all the time." Casey says.

"Plus, we can't take the main streets with Mona." April says.

Mona stays quiet, pulling on her own hoodie strings. Her stomach won't stop flip-flopping with every step closer she gets to Raphael.

"It's still eerie back here. How long will it take to get to this secret Lair?" Irma asks.

"It's going to take another 30 minutes. Your house isn't that far from the Lair, but we need to get a safe distance away before we go down into the sewers." April says.

"The sewers? Safe from what?"

April and Casey come to a corner and check the area before going forward. "We got awesome, secret friends, makes sense we got secret enemies too." Casey says.

"Enemies?" Irma squeaks.

Suddenly, something small and shiny whizzes past Mona's head. Mona stops and looks over at a ninja star sticking into the brick wall. She shoots her sight up and behind her and sees a gang of those dark-hooded ninjas looking down on her from the building's roof. The scary girl in the metal armor stands before them as well.

"Karai…" Mona whispers.

"Yeah, Karai is one of our more crazier enemies." Casey says.

"No, It's Karai!" Mona screams.

April turns back and sees Karai and her horde of Foot Bots. "Run!"

April and Casey allow Irma and Mona to dash past them. April unfolds her bladed fan and Casey wields a hockey stick, taking up the rear.

The four teens sprint through the tight corridors, not knowing where they're heading, desperately trying to gain distance from those red-eyed mechanical monsters and the dangerous ninja girl controlling them.

"Stop them!" Karai yells.

Irma and Mona come to a split in the path. Two Foot Bots jump down on them. Mona darts left and Irma dodges right. April pounces on one bot and makes a clean slice though the wires in its neck. It falls to the ground with a clunk. Casey ducks and dodges the punches of the other bot. April joins him and takes down the robot with a few good hits. The bot twitches and Casey stomps his chucks hard on its head.

"I'm going to catch up with Mona, you go find Irma!" April runs to the left.

"Got it!" Casey hurries down the path to the right and slams into a frenzied Irma.

"We can't go that way!" Irma screams.

Casey looks behind her and sees over a dozen Foot Bots closing in. Casey grabs her hand and drags her back where he split with April.

"What are those things?" Irma pants, trying her best to keep up with Casey.

"Foot soldiers! Evil ninja robots!" He calls back to her.

"That's insane!"

"Just hope you never meet the alien brains!"

"The WHAT?"

Casey races around a corner and finds April and Mona at a dead end blocked by a chain link fence.

"What are you waitin' for? Jump the fence!" Casey yells at April.

"We were waiting for you!" April yells back.

Casey gives a leg up to the girls, one by one. April flips and lands expertly on the other side. Mona hops over and April helps her to land.

April and Mona stand ready to catch Irma. That is when the four teens hear the metal clang and electronic chirp of the ninja robots behind them. Casey pushes Irma over the fence with all of his might.

"Ah!" Irma yelps and she lands in April and Mona's arms.

Casey is ready to defend himself with two cricket bats. "C'mon you metal monsters!"

The Foot bots storm towards him at an alarming rate.

"Casey!" April screams.

The bots knock Casey to the ground, out cold. One bot holds Casey by the leg. The rest scale the alley walls, pour over the fence, and capture the girls. April tries to fight back, but there are just too many and she can't fight and protect her friends at the same time.

With the girls restrained, Karai appears before them. She removes her metal mask as she approaches April. "Good evening, my red-headed friend."

"What do you think you're doing, Karai? Let us go!"

"Oh, I can't do that." Karai smiles devilishly. "After your pet lizard made it so easy for my spy to follow her, all we had to do was wait until you were out in the open. She's made it so easy for us. My plan should work out nicely."

"What do you plan on doing with us?" April spits at her. She is somewhat fearful, but she has to stay strong, for Mona and Irma's sake.

Karai pats April on her cheek. "You'll find out soon enough." She turns and walks down the alley, leading her robots. "Let's taken them back to my hideout quickly."

The Foot Bots tie the girls' arms and legs. Mona looks at the frightened expression on Irma's face as a black hood goes over her head. Mona looks over at April. "I'm so sorry I got us into this." She whispers as a black hood goes over her own head.

"Don't worry, Mona. We'll get out of this." April's vision is swiftly blocked by a hood.

The ninja robots hoist the girls onto their shoulders and follow Karai through the alley.

Casey's eyes pop open as he comes to. He realizes he's being dragged by a one of the horrid Foot Bots. He looks around quickly before making his move. He charges his Shock Mitt and electrifies the robot to ruin. Casey scrambles to his feet and runs for all he's worth is the opposite direction.

Karai sees him escape and decides to let him go, all the better for her plan to work out faster.

Casey finds the nearest sewer drain and slips down inside. He looks through all of his pockets for his T-phone and when he finds it, sees that it had been crushed during the fight. Great, just more wasted time in trying to get back his friends!

...

It seems to take forever for Casey to make it back to the Lair. He startles Michelangelo and Raphael watching TV as he almost falls over the turnstile. He lands on his hands and knees, gasping for air. Mike and Raph are quickly at his side.

"Casey! what's wrong?" Raph helps his human friend onto his feet."

"April... they got... taken... the girls... Karai..." Casey tries to catch his breath.

Leonardo and Donatello apprear from the hallway. "Hey, guys. What's going on?" Leo asks.

"Where's April?" Donatello starts.

Casey looks up at his frineds. He swallows hard. "Karai and her Foot Bots attacked us. She kidnapped the girls."

"Oh snap!" Mikey yells.

Donatello marches up to Casey. "What do you mean 'kidnapped'?"

"Just like I said. Those robots jumped up us and took April, Irma and Mona away."

_Mona..._ Raphael quietly mouths her her name. He'd spent the entire day coming up with the perfect apology speech. Now, there is a cavernous whole in his chest at the thought of never being able to tell her. He can't let that happen. he can't let the last words he said to her be full of contempt and lies! He has GOT to save her!

Donatello begins to fume. "How were YOU able to get away!? Why did you just LEAVE them!?"

Casey pushes back on him. "There were like twenty of them! I'm a great fighter, but I ain't UltaMan! They knocked me out, but I was able to get away. I came here cause I need your help to get OUR friends back! Now, are ya gonna track April's T-phone so we can save them, or do ya wanna rumble with me right now?"

Donatello seethes, almost tempted to take Casey up on his offer to knock his block off.

But Leonardo steps in, pulling his brother away. "Casey is right. We don't have much time. Donnie, pull up April's tracking device. The rest of us will suit up and meet in the garage. We're going to need the T-copter again if we're to get everyone out and away fast."

Donatello huffs, still angry that April has been taken. He's more upset that he wasn't there to protect her. He turns to run to his lab when Leonardo's phone begins to buzz.

Leo looks at his screen. "It's April!"

...

A/N: Cowabunga! So, what do you think? If I'm telling it correctly, you should be able to recognize that this story is happening before the Invasion and farm house and Karai becoming snake-ti-fied LOL. I'm wanting it to all tie together with the show. Hope you're entertained, because I'm having a ball! :) The next chapter is SOON TO COME!


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